TALE  OF  TWO  OCEANS; 


New  Story  by  an  Old  Califohnian. 


JUAX   FERNANDEZ. 

(Lat.  33  37  south,  Long.  78  43  west.) 

(ROBINSON    CRUSOE'S    ISLAND^ 


BY    E     I     BARRA, 

San  Francisco,  1893. 


9  3  3  3     IS 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans; 


New  Story  by  an  Old  Californian. 


JUAN   FERNANDEZ. 

An  Account  of  a  Voyage  from  Philadelphia  to  San  Francisco, 

Around  Cape  Horn,  Years  1849-50,  calling  at  Rio  de 

Janeiro,  Brazil,  and  at  Juan  Fernandez, 

In  the  South  Pacific. 


BY    E.    I     BARRA, 

San  Francisco,  1893. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year   1893,   by 

E.   I.    BARRA, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Wasliinoton. 


SAN    FRANCISCO,     1893 
Press  of  Eastinan  &  Co. 


F  ^ 


DEDIOMTORV. 


TO  WM.  J.  YOUNGER,  M.  D. 

Knowing  by  long  acquaintance  with  you  that  you  Uke  a  good 
story,  when  it  is  modestly  told,  and  feeling  that  your  approbation 
will  be  a  harbinger  of  success,  I  dedicate  this  book  to  you. 

If  in  reading  it  you  find  among  its  pages  anything  to  approve, 

or  anything  that  will  cause  a  smile  to  overspread  your  good  natured 

countenance,  I  will  feel  that  the  reading  public  will  not  lay  aside  my 

book  with  a  feeling  of  disdain  or  despise  me  for  my  presumption  in 

j^  daring  to  write  it. 

CO 

^        If  you  note  the  paucity  of  sky-scraping  words,  or  the  absence  of 

fe  moon-raking  metaphor  in  this  story,  I  hope  you  will  find  instead  an 
BO  appropriateness  of  expression  and  a  clearness  of  meaning  that  will 
ac  more  than  make  up  for  the  lack  of  "words  of  learne'd  length  and 
S  thund'rinsf  sound,"  such  as  the  schoolmaster  of  Goldsmith  used  to 
display  with  so  much  pride  that  he  was  a  scholar  of  exceptional 
erudition. 

With  a  sincere  wish  that  your  life  may  be  illumined  with  a  con- 
tinuous sunshine  of  prosperity,  I  remain  your  friend, 

THE     AUTHOR. 


299120 


RREI=MCe. 


In  writing  and  presenting  this  book  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
public,  I  am  carrying  out  a  long  cherished  desire.  During  my  event- 
ful trip  from  Philadelphia  to  San  Francisco,  I  wrote  a  diary,  in  which 
I  noted  all  my  experiences  and  all  events  that  passed  under  my 
observation.  When  I  refer  to  my  log,  as  the  sea  diary  is  called,  my 
memory  is  refreshed  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make  that  which  took 
place  more  than  forty  years  ago  seem  as  though  it  were  but  yester- 
day. 

The  reason  why  I  have  delayed  this  long  contemplated  wish  is 
because  of  the  necessary  daily  battle  of  life  to  win  the  wherewith  to 
buy  the  bread  and  the  butter  to  sustain  the  body  in  a  working  con- 
dition. Now  that  I  have  retired,  like  the  "  little  bee,"  into  winter 
quarters,  I  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  recounting  the  stirring  events 
of  the  days  of  '49  and  '50.  With  this  explanation  I  submit  this,  my 
humble  volume,  to  the  indulgent  consideration  of  the  reading  public. 

THE     AUTHOR. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


FROM     PHILADELPHIA     AROUND     CAPE     HORN,    IN 
THE    YEARS    1849-50.  _ 


A  True  and   Succinct  Account  of  the  Voyage. 


To  begin :  From  a  voyage  to  Ireland  with  a  load  of  corn 
for  the  famine-stricken  people  of  that  country,  and  from 
thence  to  Palermo,  Sicily,  where  we  took  in  a  cargo  of 
lemons,  .oranges  and  almonds,  and  from  thence  to  Bostoa, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  last  day  of  February,  1849.  After 
we  had  anchored  in  the  lower  harbor,  the  wind  chopped 
around  to  the  northwest  and  the  air  became  so  cold  that  by 
eight  o'clock  the  following  morning  our  vessel  was  inclosed 
in  a  sheet  of  ice,  thereby  cutting  off  all  communication  with 
the  city.  There  we  lay  embargoed  for  eight  days.  At  last, 
on  the  ninth  day,  the  ice  boat  "  R.  B.  Forbes,"  that  had 
been  under  repairs  for  damage  caused  by  ice,  was  again  able 
to  resume  ice  breaking,  and  she  opened  the  channel,  which 
enabled  us  to  reach  the  wharf  and  discharge  our  cargo. 

When  we  reached  the  wharf  the  first  news  we  heard  was 
that  General  Zachary  Taylor  had  been  elected  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  gold  had  been  discovered  in 
California.  We  were  informed  that  several  vessels  had 
already  sailed  lor  California,  among  them  the  ship  "Edward 
Everett,"  on  board  of  which  vessel  several  of  my  young 
friends  had  taken  passage.  "And  now,"  said  my  informant, 
"I  suppose  you  will  leave  on  the  very  next  ship." 


8  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

Well,  when  the  cargo  was  discharged,  all  hands  were 
paid  off,  and  I  took  board  with  a  Mr.  Brodhead,  who  enter- 
tained a  few  seafaring  men.  There  I  met  a  man  who  had 
arrived  in  the  ship  "  Kemittance,"  on  board  of  which  ship 
he  had  been  engaged  for  the  two  years  previous  collecting 
hides  and  tallow  on  the  coast  of  California.  He  told  me 
that  ten  days  before  they  weighed  anchor  to  leave  Monterey 
a  party  of  Americans  had  arrived  from  Coloma  and  brought 
with  them  a  large  quantity  of  gold  dust,  a  specimeu  of 
which  he  had  bought  from  them,  and  which  he  showed  me 
in  a  tin  box  like  a  snuff  box.  I,  in  my  utter  ignorance 
about  gold  mining,  asked  him  why  he  had  not  gone  up  to 
Coloma  and  gathered  up  two  or  three  sacks  of  the  precious 
dust  and  brought  it  home  with  him.  He  answered  that  he 
could  not  leave  the  ship,  even  if  he  had  so  desired;  there- 
fore he  had  come  home  in  the  ship,  had  been  discharged 
and  paid  off,  and  now  that  he  was  free  he  was  going  to  buy 
an  outfit  for  gold  mining,  and  take  passage  on  board  the 
first  ship  that  was  to  leave  for  California.  This  person 
seemed  to  be  so  sincere  and  so  sanguine  that  it  caused  me 
to  reflect  on  the  possibility  of  my  going  to  California,  and, 
in  one  grand  swoop,  digging  up  a  big  fortune. 

The  city  of  Boston,  as  well  as  all  the  adjacent  towns, 
were  alive  on  the  subject  of  the  California  gold  mines.  The 
wharves  were  lined  with  ships,  brigs,  schooners,  and  even 
sloops,  with  big  signs  which  bore  the  legend:  "  The  first 
vessel  for  California.  For  freight  or  passage  apply  to 
So  and  80,  Commercial  street,"  or  Broad  street.  Lumber 
already  framed  for  houses,  barrels  of  beef  and  pork,  flour, 
and  boxes  of  boots,  shoes,  and  long  rubber  leggings  for 
working  in  the  water,  shovels,  picks  and  axes,  in  a  hetero- 
geneous mass,  were  being  hauled  by  drays  alongside,  the 
vessels,  and  all  for  California. 

I  saw  two  men  meet  and  salute.  Said  one:  "Well, 
Swift,  are  you  going  to  California ?"  "No;  but  I  am  fitting 
out  my  brother  Josiah  with  everything  necessary  for  a  trip 
of  two  years,  as  well  as  to  pay  his  passage  to  San  Francisco 
and  also  to  furnish  the  money  to  pay  his  expenses  to  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  9 

mines,  and  in  return  I  am  to  receive  one-half  of  all  his  gains 
for  the  two  years  that  he  is  to  be  gone." 

I  afterwards  found  that  many  persons  in  New  England 
who  had  faith  in  the  gold  discoveries  but  could  not  go 
themselves,  had  adopted  the  plan  of  fitting  out  a  relative  or 
a  reliable  friend  with  all  necessary  outfit  for  the  period  of 
two  years,  paying  their  passage  out  and  securing  themselves 
for  the  outlay  by  drawing  up  a  legal  agreement,  in  which 
the  adventurer  bound  himself  to  divide  all  that  he  would 
gain  during  the  two  years  with  the  friend  who  fitted  him 
out  for  the  trip,  share  and  share  alike. 

Many  parties  that  wore  composed  of  from  fifty  to  a  hun- 
dred, would  buy  a  vessel,  load  her  with  building  materials 
and  provisions,  and,  as  the  party  generally  had  more  or  less 
sailors,  they  would  sail  her  themselves,  and  when  they 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  sell  vessel  and  cargo  for  what  they 
could  get,  and  then  proceed  to  the  mines;  and  many  com- 
panies took  along  small  boats,  which,  upon  their  arrival  in 
San  Francisco,  they  provisioned  and  went  up  the  Sacra- 
mento or  San  Joaquin  rivers  in  their  own  boat. 

The  first  ship  that  I  saw  depart  for  California  was  the 
"  Sweden."  She  was  lying  at  Lewis*  wharf.  The  morning 
on  which  she  sailed  was  an  eventful  one  to  the  voyagers  and 
their  friends.  The  morning  was  clear  and  cold,  with  the 
wind  northwest  blowing  straight  out  of  the  harbor.  Every- 
body about  the  wharf  and  on  board  the  ship  seemed  to  be 
very  busy.  Baggage  in  great  quantities  was  being  brought 
down  the  wharf  and  put  on  board  the  ship.  Fresh  provis- 
ions were  hoisted  on  board,  such  as  quarters  of  beef,  car- 
casses of  mutton,  killed  and  dressed  hogs,  cabbages,  turnips 
and  other  fresh  food,  Avhich  gave  evidence  that  the  owners 
of  the  ship  intended  to  treat  the  passengers  and  crew  in  a 
liberal  manner.  The  crew  of  the  ship  were  busy  on  board 
preparing  for  their  departure,  while  many  of  the  passengers 
were  taking  leave  of  their  relatives  and  friends. 

One  group  that  particularly  attracted  my  attention  was 
composed  of  three  persons,  two  ladies  and  a  gentleman. 
The  ladies  appeared  to  be  a  mother  and  daughter.     The 

2 


10  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

gentleman  was  apparently  about  twenty-three  years  of  age 
and  was  as  fine  looking  a  young  fellow  as  would  be  seen  in 
a  day's  travel.  Many  of  the  persons  there  had  accompanied 
relatives  from  their  distant  homes,  even  as  far  off  as  New 
Hampshire  and  Vermont.  Many  New  England  mothers 
were  there,  looking  every  one  of  them  a  heroine  that  she 
was.  They  were  taking  leave  of  their  darling  sons  for  a  long 
while  at  least.  As  I  approached  the  group  of  three  persons 
I  noticed  the  young  man  clasping  the  hand  of  the  young 
lady  in  his  own,  while  her  sad,  tearful  face  was  bent  down  to 
hide  her  grief.  The  elder  lady  spoke  and  said,  "Cyrus,  I 
told  you  a  month  ago,  when  you  first  told  of  your  intention 
to  go  to  California,  that  a  steady,  industrious  man  can  win 
gold  at  home;  but  a  good,  thrifty,  prudent  wife  he  can't  win 
every  day. "  At  this  remark  the  young  lady  burst  into  fresh 
tears,  which  she  could  not  keep  back.  The  young  man 
softly  stroked  her  hand  while  he  answered  her  mother,  say- 
ing "Mrs.  Hamblin,  I  am  not  in  a  condition  just  now  to  do 
as  I  would  like  to  do;  but  after  this  mining  trip  of  two  years, 
or  perhaps  less  time,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  build  a  nice  house 
over  in  Dracut,  just  far  enough  from  Lowell  to  make  it  seem 
like  the  country.  Then  Deborah  and  myself  will  be  married 
and  settle  down  in  a  home  of  our  own.  And  I  intend  to 
have  a  nice  gentle  horse  and  a  family  carryall,  and  she  will 
be  able  to  drive  over  to  your  house  every  fine  day  and  take 
you  all  around  the  neighborhood."  At  this  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  anticipated  happiness  the  young  lady  looked  up  at 
her  lover  and  smiled  pleasantly  at  his  description  of  the  joy 
to  come. 

This  incident  brought  to  my  mind  the  lines  of  the  poet 
Burns,  wherein  he  says : 

"  The  best  laid  schemes  o'  mice  and  men 
Gang  affc  agley, 
And  lea'e  us  naught  but  grief  and  pain 
For  promised  joy." 

Now  all  those  that  were  going  were  hurrying  on  board. 
The  pilot  went  on  board  and  ordered  the  mate  to  get  every- 
thing ready  for  a  start.     The  mate  sung  out  to  the  men  aloft, 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  11 

"Drop  the  bunts  of  the  fore  and  main  top-sails."  Then  to 
the  men  on  deck — "  Sheet  home!"  "  Now  man  the  halyards 
and  hoist  away!"  "Aye,  aye,  sir!"  "Give  us  a  shanter, 
somebody."  snog  out  the  men,  at  which  one  of  the  sailors 
struck  up  a  hoisting  song: 

"  Nancy  Banana  she  married  a  barber! " 

CHORUS. 

"  Haul  her  away,  boys!     Haul  her  away! " 
"  She  married  a  barber  who  shaved  without  lather!  " 

CHORUS. 

"  Haul  her  away,  boys!    Haul  her  away! " 

When  the  top-sails  were  mastheaded,  the  pilot  sung  out 
to  cast  off  the  bow  line.  "Now  run  up  your  jib,  Mr.  Mate. 
Now  ease  away  on  your  spring  line;"  and  the  vessel  began 
to  move  from  the  wharf.  Then  the  pilot  sung  out,  "Let  go 
your  spring  and  stern  lines!"  Then  the  good  ship  began  to 
forge  ahead;  and  the  last  cord  that  held  the  ship  tied  to  the 
land  was  cast  off  and  she  was  as  free  as  the  bird  that  flew 
around  her  masthead.  Just  then  a  number  of  the  passengers 
mounted  the  quarter-deck  and  struck  up  a  song  that  was 
then  quite  in  vogue  in  minstrel  exhibitions,  changing  a  few 
words  of  the  chorus  to  suit  the  occasion.     It  ran  thus: 

"  I  dreamt  a  dream  the  other  night  when  everything  was  still; 
I  dreamt  I  saw  Susanah,  a  coming  down  the  hill. 
She  had  a  pancake  in  her  mouth  ;  a  tear  was  in  her  eye  ; 
Says  I,  '  O  Susanah,  dear;  Susanah,  don't  you  cry.' " 

CHORUS. 

"  O!  Susanah,  don't  you  cry  for  me! 
For  I'm  bound  to  California  Avith  my  washbowl  on  my  knee." 

In  those  early  days  of  mining  the  miner  would  fill  a  sack 
with  auriferous  soil,  take  it  to  the  nearest  rivulet  of  water, 
and  wash  it  out  in  a  common  tin  pan  or  washbowl,  as  the 
soil,  being  much  lighter  than  the  gold,  would  float  off  and 
leave  the  gold  dust  in  the  bottom  of  the  pan. 


12 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


^^„^gS^SgBS» 


As  the  ship  shot  out  into  the  harbor  under  the  impulse 
of  the  favoring  breeze,  three  hearty  cheers  were  given  by 
the  people  on  the  wharf,  and  were  answered  by  the  depart- 
ing voyagers.  As  the  ship  moved  majestically  down  the 
harbor  with  all  sail  spread,  she  was  indeed  a  fine  spectacle. 
As  the  concourse  of  people  began  to  leave  the  wharf  to  go 
up  into  the  city  it  was  very  easy  to  pick  out  those  persons 
that  had  taken  leave  of  their  departing  friends  from  those 
that  were  mere  spectators  of  the  novel  scene. 

I  owned  one-quarter  in  a  sixty-ton  schooner  that  had 
been  lying  up  all  winter  in  New  Bedford,  and  as  I  was  now 
disengaged,  I  went  there  and  arranged  with  the  captain — 
who  also  owned  a  quarter  in  the  vessel — to  sail  with  him  on 
shares,  the  other  half  being  owned  by  two  Boston  mer- 
chants. After  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  other  owners, 
we  had  the  vessel  hauled  out  on  the  marine  railway,  recalked 
and  painted,  and  then  sailed  for  the  Capes  of  Virginia. 
We  went  up  the  Hampton  Roads  and  into  the  Sansemond 
River,  where  we  loaded  with  corn  in  bulk  for  Boston.  We 
made  this  trip  without  any  particular  incident,  returned  to 
Chesapeake  Bay,  went  up  the  Potomac  River  and  loaded 
with  corn  and  oats  for  Providence,  R.  I. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  13 

During  all  this  time  I  was  thinking  about  California  and 
my  young  friends  who  had  sailed  for  there  during  the  month 
of  December,  and  who  might  return  by  the  following  De- 
cember loaded  down  with  sacks  of  gold,  thereby  gaining  the 
admiration  of  all  the  young  women,  and  the  envy  of  all  the 
young  men  of  their  acquaintance. 

These  thoughts  swayed  my  mind  to  such  a  degree  that 
by  the  time  we  arrived  in  Providence  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  to  "go  to  California  with  my  washbowl  on  my  knee." 
As  soon  as  we  had  discharged  our  cargo  of  grain  I  informed 
the  captain.  He  very  kindly  reckoned  up  our  gains  and 
divided  with  me,  and  wished  me  good  luck  in  my  new  vent- 
ure. 

I  took  the  cars,  went  to  Boston,  and  there  called  upon 
my  friends,  the  merchants  who  were  owners  of  half  the  ves- 
sel, and  informed  them  of  my  resolution.  One  of  them  told 
me  that  if  I  would  make  one  more  short  trip  in  the  schooner 
and  the  accounts  from  California  should  continue  to  be 
favorable,  that  he  and  his  brother  would  fit  the  vessel  out 
and  load  her  with  such  a  cargo  as  would  find  a  ready  market 
in  California,  and  place  me  in  command.  To  this  generous 
proposition  I  made  due  acknowledgment;  but  I  told  him  I 
would  rather  go  to  California  by  the  Isthmus  Route,  so  that 
when  I  arrived  there  I  would  be  free  legged  and  unconfined. 

When  these  kind  gentlemen  saw  that  I  was  determined 
to  go  they  bought  my  quarter  interest  in  the  vessel,  paid 
me  the  money,  and  wished  me  good  luck  and  bushels  of 
gold  dust. 

I  now  prepared  to  start  as  soon  as  possible.  I  purchased 
an  outfit  such  as  I  was  told  would  be  required,  and,  after 
taking  leave  of  my  kind  friends  in  Boston  and  vicinity,  I 
bought  my  ticket  for  New  York  and  started  one  afternoon 
in  the  cars  for  Fall  Kiver  from  the  Old  Colony  Depot. 
When  we  arrived  in  Fall  River  we  embarked  on  the  steamer 
"Oregon."  The  steamer  moved  down  Mount  Hope  Bay 
and  out  into  the  beautiful  Narragansett  a-kiting.  The  bell 
now  rang  for  dinner  and  I  followed  the  crowd  into  the  din- 
ing saloon,  at  the  door  of  which  stood  a  stalwart  Ethiopian, 


14  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

who  demanded  a  dollar,  upon  the  receipt  of  which  he  per- 
mitted me  to  pass  in.  As  I  entered,  another  gentleman  of 
the  same  persuasion  took  my  ticket  and  escorted  me  to  a 
seat  at  the  table.  The  table  was  resplendent  with  china- 
ware,  glassware,  and  silver  casters.  I  was  taken  all  aback 
with  so  much  grandeur,  and  felt  myself  quite  out  of  place, 
so  different  was  it  from  what  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
before  on  shipboard.  The  waiter,  observing  my  embarrass- 
ment, took  me  in  hand  and  brought  me  a  number  of  well- 
filled  plates.  My  hunger  overcame  my  bashfulness  and  I 
began  to  eat,  and  continued  my  gustatory  occupation  until 
my  stomach  admonished  me  that  it  was  time  to  stop. 

When  I  went  out  on  deck  we  were  abreast  of  the  New- 
port breakwater.  Soon  we  came  up  with  Fort  Adams,  and, 
passing.it,  we  came  up  with  Brenton's  Reef.  Then  Beaver- 
tail  Lighthouse  on  the  starboard  side;  then  came  up  with 
Point  Judith,  and  next  Watch  Hill  light,  and  entered  the 
Long  Island  Sound. 

I  now  turned  into  my  berth  and  dreamed  that  I  was  in 
the  mines  and  had  already  dug  up  and  washed  out  a  barrel- 
ful  of  shining  gold  dust.  In  the  height  of  my  rejoicing  at 
my  success  I  was  awakened  by  the  tramping  of  many  feet 
and  I  arose  and  dressed  myself  and  went  out  on  deck  to 
find  that  it  was  five  o'clock  a.  m.  and  that  we  were  just  pass- 
ing Blackwell's  Island  and  heading  for  the  North  River  side 
of  New  York  City.  We  reached  the  wharf  about  six  o'clock 
and  I  engaged  a  vehicle  to  take  my  baggage  to  a  respectable 
boarding  house  on  Roosevelt  street. 

After  I  took  my  breakfast  I  sallied  out  to  find  the  office 
of  the  Pacific  Mail  Company,  which  I  accomplished  without 
any  difficulty.  Although  I  had  been  in  New  York  many 
times  before  I  had  always  belonged  to  some  vessel  and  was 
therefore  a  stranger  on  shore.  When  I  reached  the  place  I 
found  the  sidewalk  in  front  occupied  by  a  crowd  of  men,  and 
all  of  them  conversing  about  California  and  the  latest  news 
from  there.  The  office  was  on  the  second  floor,  and  as  I 
went  up  the  stairs  I  found  them  crowded  with  men  going  up 
and  others  coming  down.    After  I  reached  the  office  I  had  to 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  15 

wait  for  my  turn  to  approach  the  counter.  When  I  had  ac- 
complished this  feat,  sore  indeed  was  my  disappointment  to 
learn  from  the  agent  that  he  could  not  sell  me  a  through 
ticket  to  California.  All  that  he  could  do  was  to  sell  a  ticket 
to  Chagres,  from  whence  I  could  make  my  way  to  Panama, 
through  swamps  and  over  mountains,  a  distance  of  more 
than  fifty  miles,  after  which  I  could  trust  to  luck  to  obtain 
passage  for  San  Francisco,  as  all  the  tickets  for  cabin  and 
steerage  on  the  Pacific  side  were  already  sold  as  far  off  as 
the  following  December.  I  turned  sadly  from  the  counter 
and  went  down  stairs. 

When  I  reached  the  street  a  very  respectable  looking 
gentlemen  spoke  to  me  and  asked  me  if  I  had  bought  my 
ticket.  I  answered  that  I  had  not.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "I 
advise  you  not  to  do  so,  for  the  reason  that  the  Isthmus  is 
crowded  with  people  that  can't  get  away.  I  have  a  fine  ship 
that  is  now  loading  in  Philadelphia  for  San  Francisco,  and 
I  am  the  master  and  part  owner  of  her.  She  will  have  fin- 
ished loading  within  ten  days,  and  we  shall  sail  for  San 
Francisco  within  two  days  thereafter.  I  am  going  to  take 
my  wife  and  only  daughter  with  me,  and  that  is  a  guarantee 
that  the  ship  is  sound  and  seaworthy.  Now  I  will  tell  you: 
I  saw  you  come  out  of  the  steamship  office,  and  I  like  your 
appearance,  and  although  I  have  nearly  all  my  cabin  pas- 
sengers engaged,  and  I  will  take  no  others,  I  want  you  to 
go  with  me,  and  I  will  make  a  deduction  in  the  price  of  pas- 
sage in  your  favor." 

He  was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  standing  six  feet  or  over, 
of  a  florid  complexion,  and  of  an  address  so  pleasant  and 
friendly  that  he  won  my  confidence.  I,  like  a  simpleton 
that  I  was,  accepted  all  that  he  told  me  as  honest  truth. 
He  directed  me  to  call  that  evening  at  the  Merchants'  Hotel 
and  inquire  of  the  clerk  for  Capt.  Blanchard.  He  then  left 
me  and  I  strolled  around  the  wharves  and  saw  many  ships 
with  signs  out:  "First  vessel  for  California;  cargo  alien- 
gaged;  will  leave  in  five  days.  For  passage  only  apply  to 
so  and  so.  Maiden  Lane." 

At  six  o'clock  I  went  to  my  boarding  house  and  ate  my 


16  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

supper,  after  which  I  made  my  way  to  the  Merchants'  Hotel 
and  asked  the  clerk  for  Capt.  Blanchard  of  the  ship  "  Sam- 
son." He  told  me  that  the  captain  was  then  taking  his  din- 
ner and  would  soon  come  into  the  reading-room.  I  stood 
around  awhile  and  heard  the  gentlemen  talking  about  ships 
and  quick  passages  and  so  on,  and  I  inferred  that  the  place 
was  the  headquarters  of  sea  captains.  I  stood  around  awhile 
and  after  a  time  I  saw  the  captain  enter  the  room.  When 
he  saw  me  he  greeted  me  cordially  and  invited  me  to  his 
room.  Then  he  began  by  saying,  "When  I  saw  you  this 
morning  I  was  favorably  impressed  by  your  appearance,  and 
I  like  your  modest  and  manly  manner.  Now  I'll  tell  you 
what  I'll  do  for  you.  The  price  of  passage  on  my  ship  is 
fixed  at  two  hundred  dollars  for  cabin,  and  there  will  be  no 
steerage  i)assengers  on  board,  so  that  we  may  not  be  crowded 
on  such  a  long  voyage.  I'll  deduct  one-quarter  of  the  price 
in  your  favor,  which  you  can  pay  to  the  ship's  agent  in 
Philadelphia,  to  whom  you  can  hand  the  note  which  I  will 
now  give  you.  After  you  have  paid  your  passage  you  can 
go  aboard  the  ship  at  South  street  wharf  and  hand  this  note 
to  Mr.  Cranston,  the  mate,  who  Avill  then  let  you  pick  your 
berth  in  the  upper  cabin,  as  the  lower  cabin  is  to  be  devoted 
to  the  use  of  families,  who  have  already  engaged  all  the 
staterooms."  "I  suppose  we  shall  live  pretty  well  in  the 
cabin,  Captain,"  I  ventured  to  remark.  "  Live  pretty  well !  " 
said  he.  "  On  that  you  may  depend.  As  you  are  an  old 
shell-back  like  myself  I  don't  mind  telling  you  all  about  it. 
I  am  determined  that  we  shall  live  like  fighting  cocks.  I 
have  already  engaged  a  half  dozen  coops  of  chickens,  a  large 
lot  of  ducks  and  a  dozen  of  half-grown  pigs,  for  I  myself  am 
fond  of  sea  pie  made  with  good  fresh  pig.  The  tables  of  the 
upper  and  lower  cabins  shall  be  identical.  There  shall  be 
no  difference.  Every  day  for  dinner  there  shall  be  plum 
duff,  with  raisins  or  Zante  currants,  and  wine  sauce.  For  a 
change  there  will  be  rice  pudding  with  eggs,  and  I  am  sorry 
we  can't  carry  a  cow,  for  then  we  could  use  milk  also.  Also 
we  shall  have  mince  or  dried  apple  pies.  Why,  sir,  by  the 
time  that  we  arrive  in  California,  in  place  of  being  as  lean 
as  a  dolphin,  as  you  are  now,  you'll  be  as  fat  as  a  porpoise." 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  17 

After  this  pleasant  interview  I  left  the  captain,  feeling 
liigblj  elated  with  my  good  luck,  and  that  indeed  "  my  lines 
liad  fallen  in  pleasant  places."  But,  alas  for  the  truth,  I  saw 
neither  chickens,  ducks  nor  half-grown  pigs  on  board  the 
ship  "Samson"  while  I  was  on  board  of  her,  only  in  my 
mind's  eye. 

I  returned  to  my  boarding  house  and  to  bed,  being  de- 
termined to  take  the  first  train  for  Philadelphia  the  next 
day.  I  arose  the  next  morning,  walked  down  to  the  Battery 
and  viewed  the  harbor  with  innumerable  vessels  moving 
hither  and  yon.  I  saw  a  Liverpool  packet  of  the  black  ball 
line  that  had  arrived  the  evening  before.  Her  decks  were 
black  with  immigrants,  there  were  so  many.  At  that  time 
tLe  only  steamships  that  crossed  the  Atlantic  made  their 
port  in  Boston,  and  they  took  only  cabin  passengers,  there- 
fore the  packet  ships  of  that  day  were  of  great  importance. 

After  looking  around  awhile  I  returned  to  the  boarding 
house  and  ate  my  breakfast,  after  which  I  went  to  the  rail- 
load  office  and  there  learned  that  by  taking  the  night  slow 
train  that  the  cost  of  passage  would  be  much  less  and  still  I 
would  arrive  in  Philadelphia  quite  early  the  following  morn- 
ing. I  bought  my  ticket  and  walked,  around;  Avent  up 
Chatham  street,  the  Bowery  and  other  places  that  sailors 
used  to  talk  about  when  we  were  at  sea.  At  one  o'clock  I 
returned  to  my  boarding  house,  ate  my  dinner,  paid  my  bill 
and  then  engaged  a  dray  to  take  my  baggage  to  the  Jersey 
City  ferry. 

At  five  o'clock  we  left  the  ferry  landing  and  crossed  to 
Jersey  City.  There  we  got  on  board  the  cars  and  about  six 
o'clock  started  for  Philadelphia.  In  the  same  seat  with  me 
sat  an  old  gentleman,  who  asked  me  where  I  was  from  and 
where  I  was  going.  After  I  had  answered  these  questions, 
apparently  to  his  satisfaction,  he  took  me  into  his  confi- 
dence and  told  me  that  he  was  from  Boston,  where  he  had 
been  engaged  in  business  for  many  years  and  had  by  his  in- 
dustry and  frugality  accumulated  a  sum  equal  to  seventy 
thousand  dollars,  the  most  of  which  he  had  invested  in  real 


18  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

estate,  and  he  had  retired  from  business  because  he  felt  that 
he  had  money  enough.  That  was  many  years  ago,  and  I  will 
say  that  he  is  the  only  man  that  I  ever  heard  make  such  a 
declaration. 

He  further  told  me  that  his  son,  who  had  gone  to  New 
Orleans  some  years  ago  and  was  now  established  in  busi- 
ness, had  sent  him  an  urgent  invitation  to  come  and  pass  the 
winter  with  him  in  the  genial  climate  of  the  South.  He 
said  he  was  then  on  his  way  by  way  of  Cincinnati,  to  which 
place  he  was  going  by  rail,  and  from  thence  by  river  on  one 
of  the  floating  palaces  down  the  Ohio  river  into  the  great 
Mississippi,  and  down  to  New  Orleans.  After  passing  the 
winter  in  the  company  of  his  son  and  family,  and  spring 
was  well  advanced,  he  would  embark  on  board  of  one  of  the 
numerous  vessels  that  sail  from  New  Orleans  to  Boston,  and 
go  home  by  the  way  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Florida 
Straits,  until  he  would  again  reach  his  New  England  home — 
than  which  there  is  no  sweeter  spot  on  earth  to  him. 

By  this  time  it  had  become  dark,  and  the  lamps  in  the 
car  had  been  lighted.  The  passengers,  one  after  the  other, 
were  dropping  asleep.  I  had  the  inside  seat,  and  in  the  seat 
opposite  mine  sat  .a  lady  holding  a  child,  about  eighteen 
months'  old,  that  had  been  crowing,  talking  baby-talk,  and 
kicking  from  the  time  we  had  started,  and  now  from  sheer 
exhaustion  it  had  fallen  asleep  in  its  mother's  arms.  The 
old  gentleman  beside  me  was  now  in  the  laud  of  nod. 

I  was  ruminating  in  my  mind  over  my  novel  situation — so 
different  from  my  usual  one  of  a  life  on  shipboard.  I  was 
roused  from  my  reverie  by  the  lady  on  the  opposite  seat  say- 
ing to  me:  "  Young  man,  I  see  that  you  don't  seem  to  be 
either  tired  or  sleepy,  while  I  am  both,  and  feel  all  worn  out 
with  taking  care  of  my  baby.  Now  will  you,  like  a  good 
young  man  as  I  see  that  you  are,  just  hold  my  baby  while  I 
take  a  half  hour  of  rest?"  What  could  I  say,  only  to  answer 
in  the  affirmative,  and  took  the  child  from  her  arms  for  half 
an  hour.  The  mother  settled  herself  in  her  seat,  and  for 
two  successive  hours  she  slept  and  snored  at  the  rate  of  ten 
knots  an  hour. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  19 

I  fejt  that  I  was  doing  some  little  good  in  the  world,  and 
was  satisfied;  when  at  the  end  of  the  two  hours  we  came  to 
a  place  where  there  was  some  change  to  be  made,  the  lady 
woke  up,  and  relieved  me  of  my  charge,  with  many  thanks. 

In  the  morning  we  arrived  in  Philadelphia.  I  left  my 
baggage  at  the  depot,  and  made  my  way  to  the  Red  Bank 
Ferry  Hotel,  to  which  place  Capt.  Blanchard  had  directed 
me  to  go.  I  told  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clements  that  Capt.  Blan- 
chard had  directed  me  to  put  up  at  their  hotel.  Mr.  Clem- 
ents said  that  Capt.  Blanchard  was  one  of  their  patrons 
whenever  he  was  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Clements  showed 
me  into  a  snug  little  room  in  the  third  story,  from  the  one 
window  of  which  I  had  a  good  view  of  the  surrounding 
housetops,  and  could  admire  the  steeples  of  the  different 
churches. 

I  descended  to  the  street  and  engaged  a  drayman  to  fetch 
my  baggage  from  the  depot. 

After  I  had  got  my  things  into  the  iittle  room,  I  opened 
my  chest,  took  out  my  comb  and  brush,  and,  there  being  a 
pitcher  of  water  and  a  basin  in  the  room,  I  spruced  up  a 
little  and  went  down  stairs  to  my  breakfast. 

After  breakfast  I  started  out  to  attend  to  the  business 
that  had  brought  me  to  Philadelphia.  I  asked  the  way  to 
the  South  street  wharf,  and  it  was  pointed  out  to  me,  and  I 
found  that  the  ship  didn't  lay  far  from  the  hotel.  I  went  on 
board  and  handed  the  note  which  the  captain  had  given,  to 
the  mate  of  the  ship  Mr.  Cranston.  He  read  the  note,  and 
then  reached  out  his  hand  to  me  in  a  friendly  manner,  and 
said  that  he  was  glad  to  greet  me,  as  Capt.  Blanchard  said 
that  he  thought  that  I  was  a  likely  young  man  and  he  hoped 
all  the  other  passengers,  most  of  whom  were  already  en- 
gaged, would  prove  to  be  as  pleasant  to  the  officers  of  the  ship 
and  to  one  another,  as  that  would  be  an  important  matter 
on  such  a  long  voyage  as  the  one  we  were  about  to  enter 
upon. 

I  will  here  describe  the  mate.  He  was  a  man  about  five 
feet  nine  inches  in  height,  with  a  round,  plump  face,  em- 
browned by  the  sun,  entirely  unshaven,  a  small  nose  sur- 


20  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

mouated  by  a  pair  of  gold-rimmed  spectacles,  dark  eyes, 
black  curly  hair  and  beard,  aud  pouting,  smiling  lips,  and 
apparently  about  thirty  years  of  age.  To  me  he  looked  like 
a  lawyer's  clerk  much  more  than  he  did  like  a  sailor.  How- 
ever, he  was  very  complaisant  to  me,  and  told  me  that  he 
was  from  Massachusetts,  and  had  been  up  to  that  present 
time  master  of  an  East  Indiaman;  but  he  had  determined 
to  go  to  California  and  try  his  fortune  in  the  land  of  gold. 
He  said  that  being  an  old  acquaintance  of  Capt.  Blanchard 
he  had  joined  his  ship  as  first  mate  with  the  agreement  that 
he  should  leave  the  ship  when  she  arrived  in  California. 

The  ship  "Samson"  I  found  to  be  an  eastern  built 
craft  of  the  old  fashioned  kettle-bottom  model,  built  for 
carrying  more  than  for  speed.  She  had  been  engaged  in  the 
cotton  trade,  taking  a  cargo  of  cotton  from  New  Orleans  or 
Mobile  to  Liverpool,  and  going  from  there  to  Saint  Ubes  in 
Portugal,  or  Cadiz  in  Spain,  and  thence  taking  a  cargo  of 
salt  to  Bath,  Me.,  for  the  use  of  the  Grand  Bank  fishermen; 
then  after  painting  and  refitting,  the  ship  would  repeat  the 
voyage  the  following  year.  She  was  what  the  sailors  called 
a  good  old  monthly  ship.  I  could  see  that  she  was  not  a 
clipper,  but  she  looked  sound  and  solid  and  of  about  five 
hundred  tons  burthen. 

I  determined  to  go  in  her,  and  I  asked  Mr,  Cranston  the 
direction  to  the  office  of  the  agent.  He  directed  me  along 
the  city  front  and  told  me  the  number  of  the  house.  When 
I  arrived  at  the  office  I  found  Mr.  Perkins,  the  agent,  at  his 
desk,  and,  bowing  to  him  politely,  I  handed  him  the  note 
from  Captain  Blanchard.  After  he  read  the  note  he  said  to 
me,  "Are  you  an  old  acquaintance  of  Capt.  Blanchard?" 
"  No,  sir,"  I  answered;  '*  I  never  saw  him  before  I  met  him 
in  New  York."  "  Why  I  asked  you  is  because  he  informs  me 
in  this  note  that  you  are  to  have  your  passage  to  San  Fran- 
cisco at  one-quarter  less  than  the  regular  price.  However, 
I  suppose  he  has  his  motives  for  so  doing."  I  learned  after- 
wards that  Mr.  Perkins  was  correct  in  his  surmise. 

I  paid  my  passage,  received  my  ticket  and  returned  to 
the  ship  in  order  to  select  my  berth.     When  I  asked  of  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  21 

mate  which  berth  I  could  have,  ho  naively  told  me  to  take 
any  one  I  chose.  "Why,  sir,"  I  replied,  "  the  captain  told 
me  that  nearly  every  berth  in  the  upper  cabin  was  already 
engaged."  "Well,  well,"  said  he,  "  I  guess  they  are;  but, 
you  know,  the  agent  don't  keep  me  informed  about  such 
matters." 

The  upper  cabin  contained  two  staterooms  aft,  one  of 
which  was  to  be  occupied  by  the  mates;  and  one  forward  on 
the  larboard  side.  On  the  starboard  side  forward  was  the 
pantry.  Between  the  staterooms,  extending  the  length  of 
the  cabin,  were  thirty  berths,  fifteen  on  each  side. 

The  center  of  the  cabin  was  occupied  by  a  table  extend- 
ing its  whole  length.  Over  the  table  were  swinging  racks, 
which  were  filled  with  wine  glasses,  tumblers  and  highly 
polished  casters — all  very  suggestive  of  good  eating  that  was 
to  come  upon  the  table  after  we  got  started  for  California. 
The  pantry  was  well  stocked  with  dishes,  and  mutely  told 
all  intending  passengers  that  they  might  expect  to  fare 
high.  I  afterwards  learned  that  this  was  all  for  effect,  and 
not  for  use.  The  lower  cabin,  I  learned,  had  been  engaged 
by  a  number  of  French  families,  who  had  been  the  adherents 
of  Louis  Phillip,  the  late  king  in  their  own  country,  and, 
after  the  coup  de  dat  by  Louis  Napoleon,  had  left  France  in 
order  to  settle  in  Philadelphia,  and  try  their  fortunes  in  the 
new  world.  On  hearing  the  wonderful  accounts  of  the  gold 
discoveries  in  California  they  had  determined  to  be  among 
the  first  to  reach  that  land  of  fabulous  wealth. 

I  selected  my  berth  in  the  first  row  abaft  the  pantry,  be- 
ing nearest  the  cabin  door,  and  placed  a  ticket  on  it  to  se- 
cure it.  While  I  was  looking  around  on  board,  four  drays 
were  driven  to  the  ship's  side  and  unloaded  of  heavy  cases. 
After  a  time  a  number  of  stevedores,  with  their  foreman, 
came  on  board  and  took  off  the  hatches  in  order  to  take  the 
goods  on  board.  For  the  first  time  I  went  down  into  the 
hold,  and  found  that  the  lower  deck  was  not  more  than  half 
full,  while  the  'tween  decks  had  only  a  few  cases  in  it.  I 
said  to  the  mate  that  it  didn't  look  as  though  the  ship  could 
sail  in  ten  days,  seeing  how  little  she  had  then  on  board. 


22  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

"  Well,"  said  he;  "  you  know  that  a  great  quantity  of  cargo 
can  be  stowed  on  board  of  a  ship  in  ten  days,  and  as  the 
agent  tells  me  that  every  ton  of  freight  that  can  be  stowed 
away  is  already  engaged,  we  will,  without  doubt,  get  away 
from  here  by  the  last  of  this  month,  or  by:the  first  of  August, 
sure. 

That  evening  Mr.  Clement,  the  landlord  of  the  hotel,  told 
me  that  the  clipper  brig  "Tecumseh,"  Capt.  Lyle,  was  re- 
ceiving a  quick  dispatch  and  was  nearly  loaded,  and  had  all 
her  passengers  engaged,  and  without  doubt  after  she  left 
the  ' '  Samson, "  being  the  next  nearest  loaded,  would  receive 
a  quick  dispatch. 

The  next  morning  I  went  to  the  wharf  where  the  "Te- 
cumseh  "  laid  and  saw  that  she  was  loaded  chock-a-block, 
and  that  she  had  considerable  freight  on  deck.  This  inspired 
me  with  the  thought  that  our  ship,  being  the  next  nearest 
loaded,  that  we  would  be  enabled  to  start  near  the  stipu- 
lated time. 

I  now  turned  my  attention  to  buying  a  venture  for  the 
California  market.  I  had  been  informed  that  pickles  of  all 
kinds  were  in  demand  by  the  miners,  and  could  be  sold 
there  at  a  large  profit.  I  went  to  "  Smith's  pickle  preserv- 
ing establishment,"  and  bought  a  large  quantity  of  pickles 
in  glass  jars,  and  superintended  the  packing  in  boxes  in  a 
manner  that  would  insure  their  safe  transportation.  I  also 
bought  twenty  thousand  Philadelphia  made  cigars,  which  I 
afterwards  retailed  in  San  Francisco  at  twenty-five  cents 
apiece. 

After  buying  a  few  other  articles  that  I  thought  would  be 
in  demand  in  California,  I  packed  them  into  cases  and  sent 
them  on  board  the  "Samson,"  and  obtained  the  bills  of 
lading  from  Mr.  Perkins,  the  agent.  I  didn't  insure  my 
venture  for  the  reason  that  if  anything  happened  to  the  ship 
I  wouldn't  have  any  use  for  the  money  to  be  recovered  from 
the  company. 

After  I  had  arranged  and  shipped  my  goods,  I  turned  my 
attention  to  viewing  the  sights  of  the  Quaker  City,  as  it  is 
called.     I  learned  that  it  is  so  called  because  it  was  settled 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  23 

by  Quakers  led  by  William  Penn,  who  had  received  a  grant 
of  land  from  the  King  of  England.  The  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania is  called  the  Keystone  State  for  the  reason  that  it  was 
the  center  one  of  the  thirteen  original  States  of  the  Union. 

My  first  pilgrimage  was  made  to  that  historical  building, 
Independence  Hall,  where  that  illustrious,  self-sacrificing 
body  of  patriots  assembled  and  then  pledged  their  fortunes 
and  their  lives  for  the  achievement  and  maintenance  of  the 
freedom  of  this  great  and  glorious  country.  To  take  it  and 
to  hold  it  free  from  the  domination  of  King  George  the 
Third  of  England  and  all  his  cohorts.  I  went  and  viewed 
the  hall  where  American  Independence  was  born  in  the  year 
1776,  and  offered  a  silent  prayer  to  the  Euler  of  Nations  that 
this  land  may  continue  to  be  the  land  of  the  free  and  the 
home  of  the  brave  to  the  end  of  time. 

When  I  returned  to  the  hotel  that  evening  I  found  two 
young  men  there  waiting  for  me.  They  told  me  that  they 
came  from  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  were  going  to  Cali- 
fornia; that  they  had  never  seen  a  ship  before,  and  when 
they  went  on  board  the  "Samson"  they  became  timid  and 
were  rather  dubious  about  taking  passage  on  her.  Capt. 
Blanchard,  who  had  returned  from  down  East  with  his  wife 
and  child,  had  told  them  that  he  would  take  his  family  along 
and  also  referred  them  to  me  as  being  a  sailor,  and  that  I 
had  engaged  and  paid  for  my  passage  on  his  ship,  and  told 
them  that  they  would  find  me  at  the  Eed  Bank  Hotel.  I 
told  them  that  I  thought  that  the  "  Samson  "  was  a  substan- 
tial craft,  not  very  speedy,  yet  a  safe  vessel  to  go  to  sea  in. 
After  hearing  my  statement  they  said  that  they  would  pay 
their  passage  the  following  day,  and  they  did  and  became 
my  fellow-passengers  on  the  ship. 

A  few^  days  afterwards  a  gentleman,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  came  on  the  same  kind  of  errand  and  informed  me  that 
Capt.  Blanchard  had  referred  him  to  me  in  regard  to  the 
seaworthiness  of  the  ship.  He  told  me  that  he  had  sold  out 
his  store  in  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  in  company  of  his 
wife  was  going  to  try  the  climate  of  California  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  health  as  well  as  to  improve  bis  fortune.    As  to  his 


24  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

health,  his  looks  showed  that  there  was  plenty  of  room  for 
improvement.  They  also  became  my  fellow-passengers,  and 
afterwards  when  he  and  his  wife  left  the  ship  in  Rio  Janeiro 
and  paid  their  passage  to  California  on  another  ship,  he 
mildly  reproached  me,  saying  that  had  it  not  been  for  me 
he  would  have  waited  in  Philadelphia  for  another  vessel. 

I  now  could  see  the  reason  why  Capt.  Blanchard  had 
made  a  quarter  reduction  in  my  passage.  It  was  because  he 
wanted  to  use  me  as  a  standing  reference  as  to  the  sea- 
worthiness of  his  ship,  among  these  honest  country  people 
who  had  no  confidence  in  their  own  judgment.  And  I  at 
once  determined  that  after  that  T  would  simply  say  that  I 
knew  nothing  about  the  ship  further  than  having  paid  my 
passage  on  her  and  intended  to  go  in  her. 

I  now  found  out  that  Capt.  Blanchard  was  not  a  man  to 
throw  a  sprat  unless  it  would  catch  for  him  a  mackerel. 

The  ship  was  slowly  filling  up  and  I  thought  that  we 
might  be  ready  to  sail  by  the  latter  part  of 'August. 

After  visiting  the  historic  Independence  Hall  my  next 
desire  was  to  visit  the  United  States  Mint — the  first  that  was 
established  in  the  United  States.  In  the  year  1791  CoDgress 
passed  an  act  establishing  a  national  Mint  in  Philadelphia, 
the  capital  of  the  United  States  at  that  time.  President 
Washington,  it  is  said,  took  great  interest  in  forwarding  the 
preparations,  but  the  progress  was  slow;  therefore,  the  first 
coinage  in  the  new  Mint  took  place  in  1793,  in  which  year 
copper  cents  were  coined.  In  the  following  year,  October, 
1794,  the  first  American  dollars  were  issued,  since  which 
time  the  American  silver  coins  have  gradually  displaced  the 
foreign  silver  coins  with  which,  up  to  recent  years,  this 
country  has  been  flooded.  There  have  been  several  mints 
established  since,  but  they  are  only  branches,  as  this  is  the 
jiarent  mint,  and  supplies  all  the  others  with  dies  and  other 
delicate  machinery. 

My  next  visit  was  to  Girard  College.  This  is  an  educa- 
tional institution  established  by  Stephen  Girard,  a  Phila- 
delphia merchant  of  French  birth,  living  very  poor  in  order 
that  he  might  die  very  rich.     This  institution  will  most  cer- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  25 

tainly  perpetuate  his  name  in  honor,  and  many  an  educated 
Philadelphian  has  cause  to  gratefully  honor  the  name  of 
Stephen  Girard. 

Philadelphia  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  two  rivers, 
the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill.  One  street,  called  Market 
street,  extends  from  the  bank  of  the  Delaware  river  to  the 
bank  of  the  Schuylkill.  On  the  Delaware  side  it  is  built  with 
fine  and  substantial  buildings,  but  as  you  approach  the 
Schuylkill  river  the  houses  are  wooden  structures,  ap- 
parently built  to  cover  as  much  waste  ground  as  possible. 

When  I  reached  the  Schuylkill  side  I  found  the  bank  of 
the  river  occupied  by  schooners  and  sloops  that  were  being 
loaded  with  coal  from  canal  boats,  to  be  carried  to  eastern 
ports.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Schuylkill  was  a  vast 
oozy  marsh,  covered  with  reeds,  and  I  saw  sportsmen  going 
over  in  flat  bottomed  boats  to  shoot  wild  ducks. 

I  next  visited  Kensington,  a  suburb  of  Philadelphia,  on 
the  Delaware  river,  where  the  cars  come  in  immense  trains 
loaded  with  coal;  and  here  I  found  something  different  from 
what  I  had  ever  seen  before.  The  cars  were  carried  on 
trestled  tracks  quite  a  distance  over  the  deep  part  of  the 
river,  the  schooners  were  then  hauled  alongside,  a  shoot  run 
into  her  hatchway,  and  the  bottom  was  dropped  in  each  car 
in  its  turn  and  the  coal  was  shot  into  the  vessel's  hold  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye.  It  was  then  trimmed  by  lumpers,  and 
in  two  hours'  time  a  two  hundred  tons'  schooner  would  be 
ready  to  go  down  the  I'iver  fully  loaded. 

I  contrasted  this  with  what  I  had  seen  in  other  places. 
I  once  belonged  to  a  brig  that  went  to  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia. 
When  we  arrived  there  we  were  ordered  to  a  place  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  harbor  called  New  Glasgow,  to  there 
load  with  coal.  With  the  primitive  style  that  prevailed  then 
it  took  us  four  days  to  load  two  hundred  tons  of  coal, 
whereas  I  saw  the  schooner  loaded  with  same  quantity  of 
coal  in  two  hours. 

Whatever  the  Americans  have    to   do  they  do  it  with 
celerity,  showing  thereby  that  they  practice  the  injunction 
of  Saint  Paul,  wherein    he    says:     "Whatever   thy   hands 
findeth  to  do,  that  do  with  all  thy  might. " 
3 


26  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

One  morning  I  read  in  the  ''Ledger"  that  there  was  to 
be  a  great  play  performed  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  and 
among  other  attractions  there  to  appear,  was  Collins  the 
Irish  comedian  and  singer  of  songs. 

I  determined  to  attend,  and  immediately  after  supper  in 
the  evening  I  made  my  way  to  the  theatre.  The  play  of  that 
night  was,  I  think,  composed  by  Sheridan  Knowles.  The 
leading  female  character  came  on  the  stage  arrayed  in  a 
riding  habit,  with  hat  on  head  and  whip  in  hand,  and  began 
reciting  her  wonderful  exploits  in  a  most  rhapsodical  man- 
ner, about  leaping  over  dikes,  clearing  wide  ditches,  and 
other  equestrian  achievements.  The  more  she  talked  the 
louder  the  audience  clapped,  until  the  house  was  in  a  furor 
of  excitement;  finally  the  actress  had  to  withdraw  from  very 
exhaustion.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  piece  the  lady  was 
called  before  the  curtain  and  received  an  ovation  of  hearty 
applause.  I  didn't  see  any  flowers  thrown  upon  the  stage, 
for  at  that  time  the  practice  of  emptying  the  contents  of  a 
flower  shop  upon  the  stage  did  not  prevail.  I  afterwards 
learned  that  the  name  of  the  actress  was  Miss  Alexina 
Fisher,  and  that  she  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  people  of 
Philadelphia.  The  next  was  to  be  the  "grand  piece  de  re- 
sistance," Mr.  Collins  the  Irish  comedian  and  songster. 
After  a  short  lull  the  stage  manager  came  to  the  footlights 
and  announced  Mr.  Collins;  as  he  uttered  the  name  a  fine 
looking  gentleman  emerged  from  the  wings,  amid  the  up- 
roarious applause  of  the  audience,  alow  and  aloft.  The 
actor  bowed,  and  the  people  clapped  until  the  audience 
seemed  to  have  tired  themselves  out.  Mr.  Collins  was  a 
man  that  stood  about  five  feet  eleven  inches  in  height,  very 
erect,  had  dark  curly  hair,  a  ruddy  complexion,  dark  eyes, 
and  a  very  pleasing  expression  of  countenance.  The  music 
struck  up  and  Mr.  Collins  sang  thus: 

"  Ob,  Widder  Machree,  its  no  wonder  you  frown, 
Och,  hone  !  Widder  Macbree  ; 
It  spoils  your  looks,  that  same  dirty  black  gown, 
Ocli,  bone  !  Widder  Macbree." 

His  grimaces  were  wonderful  contortions  of  the  human 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  27 

face.  At  the  end  of  each  stanza,  the  audience  ^V()uld  shout 
to  the  echo.  To  me,  it  seemed  flat,  stale,  and  unprofitable; 
but,  I  suppose  it  was  very  profitable  to  Mr.  Collins,  and  that 
Avas  all  that  he  wanted.  He  seemed  to  please  his  listeners 
and  thus  put  mouey  in  his  purse. 

After  the  performance  I  wended  my  way  towards  my 
hotel,  and  when  I  reached  the  first  corner  below  the  theatre, 
I  heard  the  cry:  "Hot  corn!  hot  corn!  all  hot."  As  I  ap- 
proached the  spot  from  whence  the  cry  emanated,  I  found 
that  it  was  a  Negro  woman,  who  was  standing  on  the  street 
corner,  with  an  immense  tin  kettle  in  front  of  her,  which 
was  kept  hot  by  an  alcohol  lamp.  I  saw  her  draw  ears  of 
boiled  corn  out  of  the  kettle,  and  dispense  them  to  finely 
dressed  gentlemen,  who  appeared  to  be  of  the  "  haut  ton" 
of  Philadelphia  society.  They  received  the  corn  from  the 
woman  and  proceeded  to  eat  it,  there  and  then.  When  they 
had  finished,  they  pulled  out  their  handkerchiefs,  wiped 
their  hands,  paid  the  woman,  and  went  their  way,  just  as  if 
it  was  a  most  common-place  afi'air  with  them  to  do  so,  and 
as  if  they  had  been  "  to  the  manor  born." 

Afterwards,  as  the  season  advanced  and  the  evenings  be- 
came more  cool,  the  green  corn  was  succeeded  by  what  is 
called  pepperpot.  It  is  composed  of  calveshead,  fine  cut 
tripe,  sliced  potatoes,  and  seasoned  with  capsicum  and 
cloves.  This  feast  was  served  in  little  bowls,  and  eaten 
from  a  spoon;  and  like  the  corn,  eaten  while  standing. 
Well,  I  said  to  myself,  this  is  the  most  unconventional  city 
that  I  ever  was  in.  Surely,  "  use  makes  master,"  as  the  old 
saying  goes.  The  people  in  this  city  seem  to  eat  their  sup- 
per in  the  street,  and  then  pick  their  teeth  as  they  walk 
along. 

One  Sunday  I  saw  a  crowd  of  })eople  going  on  board  a 
ferry  boat  that  was  bound  for  Red  Bank,  on  the  New  Jersey 
side  of  the  Delaware  river,  and  I  took  a  trip  also.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  landing,  I  found  that  Red  Bank  comprised 
one  large  wooden  building,  called  the  hotel,  and  a  few 
scattering  farm  houses.  I  soon  learned  why  people  came  on 
Sundays   when  I  saw  an  immense  pile  of  luscious  looking 


28  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

watermelons,  and  rough  tables  and  benches  around  it.  The 
crowd  hurried  to  the  feast;  each  one  picked  out  a  water- 
melon, paid  for  it,  and  fell  to  and  ate  it.  I  did  as  I  saw 
others  do.  I  will  say,  although  I  had  eaten  watermelon  in 
Vera  Cruz,  where  it  is  said  they  are  the  best  in  the  world, 
that  the  freshly  gathered  melons  of  New  Jersey  excel  all 
others.  ^Vfter  this  "fete  champetre,"  as  there  was  no  other 
attraction  but  fields  of  sand  and  watermelon  patches,  I  took 
the  next  boat  for  the  city.  While  we  were  on  our  way  back 
I  discovered  that  some  of  our  passengers  had  found  in  the 
hotel  at  Red  Bank  something  very  inspiring,  as  they  were 
hilarious  and  somewhat  noisy,  but  there  was  no  trouble  on 
board  the  steamer,  and  we  returned  to  the  city  in  safety.  It 
was  now  verging  on  towards  the  end  of  September. 

When  I  left  Boston,  in  the  middle  of  July,  I  anticipated 
being  in  California  by  the  first  of  October,  but,  instead  of 
that,  here  I  was  in  Philadelphia,  with  my  passage  paid  on 
board  of  a  ship  that  was  not  yet  ready  to  sail.  I  now  felt 
the  full  force  of  the  old  adage  that,  "  Hope  deferred  maketh 
the  heart  sick."  I  walked  down  to  the  ship  on  the  first  day 
of  October,  and  there  my  eyes  were  gladdened  by  seeing  a 
gang  of  riggers  bending  the  sails  and  reeving  the  running 
gear.  I  knew  that  this  betokened  the  near  approach  of  tLe 
day  of  our  departure  for  the  land  of  gold. 

That  evening  there  was  an  alarm  of  fire  sounded,  and  the 
engines  were  rushing  through  the  streets  at  a  furious  rate, 
pulled  by  earnest  men,  to  the  number  of  about  fifty  men  to 
each  engine.  The  fire  was  raging  along  the  neighborhood 
of  Shippen  street.  I  heard  that  it  was  the  Negro  quarter  of 
the  city.  The  firemen  were  volunteers — young,  zealous  and 
fearless.  They  worked  with  a  will  to  save  lives  and  property 
without  any  hope  of  compensation  or  )eward.  In  the  midst 
of  their  dangerous  labors  a  shot  was  fired,  and  one  of  their 
number,  who  was  standing  on  the  engine  directing  the  stream 
of  water,  fell  off  the  engine,  shot  dead.  The  exertions  of 
the  firemen  now  ceased,  and  they  directed  their  attention  to 
the  residents  of  the  neighborhood.  In  five  minutes  time 
the  residents  were  fleeing  in  every  direction,  seeking  safety 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  29 

from  instant  death  at  the  hands  of  the  now  infuriated  fire- 
men. The  disturbance  became  so  serious  that  the  police, 
who  tried  to  suppress  it,  were  brushed  aside  like  so  many 
flies.  The  church  bells  were  rung,  and  the  Mayor  read  the 
riot  act,  but  it  availed  naught,  for  the  firemen  were  now 
frantic  with  rage.  Finally  the  military  was  called  out,  and 
something  like  four  squares  were  placed  under  martial  law. 
Neither  man  nor  vehicle  was  allowed  to  approach  the  inter- 
dicted quarter,  and  it  so  continued  up  to  the  day  that  we 
sailed.  All  this  tumult  seemed  very  strange  to  see  in  a  city 
that  was  called  the  "City  of  Brotherly  Love."  It  sounded 
like  a  misnomer  to  me,  when  I  remembered  that  about  four 
years  before  a  riot  was  fomented  in  this  same  city  which 
culminated  in  the  despoilment  of  school  houses  and  the  firing 
of  church  edifices.  I  will  say  for  myself  that  in  my  wander- 
ings about  the  world  I  was  never  treated  more  kindly  any- 
where than  I  was  in  Philadelphia. 

The  day  for  our  departure  finally  arrived,  to  my  great 
delight.  On  this  fifth  day  of  October  the  South  street  wharf 
was  all  alive  Avith  the  voyagers  and  their  leave-taking  friends. 
There  was  a  large  number  of  French  gentlemen  and  ladies 
who  had  come  to  bid  their  compatriots  a  "bon  voyage." 
The  men  embraced  each  other  in  a  most  affecting  manner 
and  the  ladies  rained  kisses  upon  each  other  in  a  manner 
that  seemed  to  convey  to  each  other  the  ardent  love  they 
felt  for  their  country  people  in  this  the  land  of  their  exile. 
As  I  was  a  mere  looker-on  in  all  this  demonstration,  not 
having  any  other  friends  than  those  persons  with  whom  I 
had  become  acquainted  during  my  two  months'  sojourn,  I 
felt  a  sympathy  for  them  when  I  saw  how  hard  it  seemed  to 
rend  the  ties  of  long  cherished  friendship,  perhaps  never  to 
be  renewed. 

About  eleven  o'clock  the  steamer  came  alongside  and  her 
hawsers  were  passed  to  the  ship  preparatory  to  towing  her 
down  the  river.  South  street  wharf  was  now  crowded  with 
friends  and  lookers-on.  The  pilot  came  on  board  and  or- 
dered the  shore  lines  to  be  cast  off,  the  steamer  began  to 
turn  her  paddles,  and  the  ship  gently  moved  from  the  wharf 


30  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

iuto  the  river  amidst  the  deafening  cheers  of  the  people  on 
the  wharf.  Just  then  four  young  men  passengers  who  had 
no  grief  to  express  at  parting  from  friends,  jumped  upon  the 
deck  of  the  upper  cabin  and  sang  in  harmony  and  in  very 
good  voice  the  following  song  of  the  sea: 

A  life  on  tlie  ocean  wave, 

And  a  home  on  the  rolling  deep, 
Where  the  scattered  waters  rave 

And  the  winds  their  revels  keep. 
Like  a  bird  in  a  cage  I  pine, 

While  on  this  stand-still  shore; 
O,  give  me  the  pickly  brine 

And  the  good  old  ship  once  more. 
O,  life  on  the  ocean  wave, 

And  a  home  on  the  rolling  deep. 
Where  the  scattered  waters  rave 

And  the  winds  their  revels  keep. 

CHOKUS. 

And  the  winds,  and  the  winds, 
And  the  winds  their  revels  keep. 

By  the  time  the  song  was  finished  we  were  gliding  down 
the  Delaware  river  at  an  easy  speed  in  tow  of  the  steamer. 

At  one  o'clock  the  first  dinner  of  the  voyage  was  served. 
It  consisted  of  roast  beef,  roast  pork,  boiled  cabbage,  sweet 
potatoes,  Irish  potatoes,  stewed  tomatoes  and  rice  pudding. 
Thirty-one  passengers  sat  at  the  table  in  the  upper  cabin, 
most  of  them  strangers  to  one  another. 

The  first  one  I  heard  speak  was  a  German  gentleman, 
who  called  out,  "Steward,  h off  you  potato  more?"  At 
this  strange  kind  of  English  the  young  Peunsylvanians  burst 
into  a  roar  of  laughter,  which  served  to  break  the  ice  of  re- 
serve, and  a  general  conversation  began  to  flow  in  a  pleasant 
vein.  I  have  enumerated  the  viands  we  had  at  our  first 
dinner  on  the  ship,  and  candor  compels  me  to  say  that  it 
was  the  last  one  we  enjoyed  of  the  kind  during  the  voyage, 
for  after  that  our  fare  consisted  of  salt  beef,  salt  pork,  beans, 
rice,  codfish,  mackerel,  and  potatoes  while  they  lasted,  which 
was  about  one  month.  Twice  a  week  we  had  plum  duff  with 
raisins.     The  duff  is  composed  of  flour,    lard,   raisins,  sal- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  31 

eratus  and  water,  with  eggs  mixed  in  when  thej  can  be  had. 
When  well  mixed  it  is  put  into  a  canvas  bag,  wide  at  the  top 
and  very  narrow  at  the  bottom,  boiled  two  hours  and  then 
turned  out  into  a  platter  and  served  with  wine  sauce  when 
it  can  be  had,  or  else  with  vinegar,  butter,  sugar  aud  water 
boiled  well  together  and  thickened  with  flour  and  flavored 
with  nutmeg.  On  other  days  we  had  boiled  rice,  with  sugar 
for  dessert.  The  foregoing  was  the  cabin  fare  on  board  the 
ship  "  Samson." 

The  steamboat  towed  the  ship  down  the  Delaware  river 
as  far  as  New  Castle,  where  we  came  to  anchor,  and  the 
steamer  was  ready  to  cast  ofl";  but  just  then  there  arose 
some  trouble  about  the  payment  of  the  balance  of  the  tow- 
age money.  Capt.  Blanchard  came  to  me  and  said  that  if  I 
would  loan  him  what  money  I  had,  he  would  give  me  his 
note  made  payable  in  San  Francisco,  with  six  per  cent,  in- 
terest. I  thought  of  the  adage,  "A  bird  in  the  hand  is 
worth  two  in  the  bush,"  therefore  I  kept  my  money.  The 
captain  made  a  raise  of  the  money  from  some  of  the  other 
passengers  and  settled  with  the  steamboatman  and  she  was 
cast  off  and  returned  to  Philadelphia.  This  was  about 
three  o'clock  and  the  crew  were  turned  to,  to  clear  up  the 
ship  and  make  ready  to  start  down  the  Delaware  Bay. 

Some  of  the  passengers  asked  of  the  chief  mate  permis- 
sion to  take  one  of  the  quarter  boats  so  as  to  go  ashore. 
The  mate  said  that  he  was  willing,  providing  there  were 
enough  men  among  the  passengers  to  manage  the  boat.  This 
was  easily  done,  and  we  rowed  ashore  and  landed  in  New 
Castle.  We  found  this  to  be  a  quiet,  old  fashioned  town  in 
the  State  of  Delaware,  and  as  we  learned  it  was  governed  by 
old  fashioned  laws.  We  visited  the  courthouse  and  the  jail, 
in  the  yard  of  which  we  were  shown  the  pillory  and  the 
whipping  post,  where  petty  thieves  and  other  criminals  of 
low  degree  were  triced  up  and  flogged  in  the  style  of  old 
colonial  days.  And  it  is  claimed  that  the  State  of  Delaware 
has  a  smaller  percentage  of  criminals,  according  to  popula- 
tion, than  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 
That  flogging  is  very  efficacious  in  preventing  crime  has 


32  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

been  proven  in  many  countries.  At  one  time,  when  I  was 
in  Havana,  Cuba,  a  negro  slave,  who  had  stolen  a  box  of 
candles  from  a  lot  that  was  being  discharged  from  the  vessel 
that  I  belonged  to,  and  taken  in  the  very  act,  was  at  once 
brought  before  the  magistrate.  This  was  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  At  ten  o'clock  I  saw  the  same  Negro  being 
led  by  the  alguazil  or  the  constable  and  stood  on  the  corner 
of  the  street,  where  the  officer  administered  twelve  lashes  on 
the  bare  back  with  a  blacksnake  whip — the  sentence  being 
forty-eight  lashes  to  be  administered  on  the  corners  of  four 
different  streets  facing  the  harbor.  Our  mate  said  to  the 
clerk  that  was  taking  account  of  our  cargo  that  it  looked 
barbarous.  The  clerk  said  he  knew  it  did,  but  if  they  did 
not  practice  such  summary  and  vigorous  measures  that  they 
would  have  to  build  more  prisons  than  they  had  warehouses. 
"For,"  said  he:  "if  we  send  a  negro  to  jail  he  considers  it 
a  boon,  because  he  obtains  exemption  from  labor;  for  he  is 
only  taken  out  in  the  morning  to  sweep  the  streets  and  is 
allowed  to  pass  the  balance  of  the  day  in  idleness,  which  all 
of  his  kind  esteem  a  blessing."  And  it  seems  that  the  same 
disposition  is  manifested  by  idle  and  dissolute  persons  all 
over  the  world — they  abhor  work,  but  they  dread  a  flogging. 

We  sauntered  around  the  town  until  near  dark  and  then 
we  entered  a  large  store,  where  they  supplied  the  country 
people  with  a  great  variet}^  of  goods,  besides  edibles  and 
drinkables,  iu eluding  an  abundant  supply  of  old  Pennsyl- 
vania rye  whisky,  stored  in  the  spacious  cellar.  The  mem- 
bers of  our  party  had  begun  to  "  wet  their  whistles  "  as  soon 
as  we  got  ashore,  and  when  we  went  into  this  store  the  most 
of  them  bought  one  or  two  gallon  demijohns  full  of  old  rye, 
wherewith  to  comfort  themselves  during  the  long  voyage. 
The  mugs  of  whisky  in  the  meantime  flew  around  pretty 
lively,  and  stories  were  told  until  it  was  time  for  us  to  return 
to  the  ship. 

In  our  party  was  a  retired  ship  captain,  who  had  been 
enraptured  by  the  stories  of  the  gold  discoveries  in  Cali- 
fornia and  had  determined  to  go  out  there  with  a  stock  of 
such  goods  as  he  thought  he  could  sell.     He  had  placed  a 


A  Tale  or  Two  Oceans.  33 

large  shipment  on  board  the  ship,  such  as  tents,  cooking 
utensils,  blankets,  and  so  forth.  He  was  a  broad  faced, 
good  natured  looking  man,  and  looked  the  very  impersonation 
of  good  living.     As  Shakespeare  has  it, 

"  In  fair,  roiTnd  belly,  with  good  capon  lined." 

Ho  was  very  jovial  and  very  entertaining  in  his  conver- 
sation. As  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  pilot  who  was 
to  take  the  ship  out  to  sea,  he  had  obtained  his  permission 
to  take  along  his  seventeen  year  old  son  as  far  as  Cape  Hen- 
lopen,  where  the  pilot  boat  would  t.ike  off  the  pilot,  and  the 
captain's  son  would  return  to  Philadelphia  on  board  the 
first  vessel  that  ihe  pilot  would  take  charge  of  to  return. 

We  went  to  the  boat  landing  and  started  for  the  ship. 
Everyone  was  jolly  and  hilarious,  singing  and  laughing  until 
we  arrived  alongside  the  ship.  We  secured  the  boat  to  the 
ship  and  began  to  climb  the  side  ladder  to  go  on  board, 
when,  unfortunately,  one  young  man  named  Clayborn  took 
hold  of  the  manropes  to  climb  up,  but  lost  his  grip  and  down 
he  tumbled  into  tho  river  between  the  ship  and  the  boat. 
The  potency  of  "  old  rye  "  had  been  too  much  for  his  nerves. 
We  got  him  back  into  the  boat  after  some  confusion;  a 
watch  tackle  was  rigged  and  he  was  hoisted  aboard  the  ship 
in  a  boatswain's  chair,  none  the  worse  for  the  baptism  which 
he  had  undergone.  The  mate  ordered  the  quarterboat  to  be 
hoisted  out  of  the  water;  the  anchor  watch  was  set  and  the 
crew  went  below.  The  passengers,  one  by  one,  turned  into 
their  berths  to  enjoy  the  first  night's  rest  on  board  the  ship. 

As  I  said  before,  I  had  chosen  my  berth  just  abaft  the 
pantry,  and  therefore  not  far  from  the  front  entrance  to  the 
cabin.  As  I  laid  in  my  berth  I  heard  two  men  disputing  on 
deck  about  the  respective  merits  of  General  Scott  and  Gen- 
eral Taylor,  both  of  whom  had  been  in  command  in  Mexico. 
Brigadier  General  Taylor  was  first  in  command  there  and 
achieved  very  great  victories,  but  he  was  supplanted  by 
Major  General  Scott,  who  was  his  superior  officer.  There 
is  no  better  way  to  describe  the  difference  in  the  two  men 
than  by  the  soubriquet  that  was  applied  to  each.     General 


34  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

Taylor  was  called  "  Old  Rough  and  Eeady,"  while  General 
Scott  was  called  "Old  Fuss  and  Feathers."  That  tells  the 
whole  story.  One  fought  off  hand.  The  other  was  forever 
getting  ready  to  fight. 

Tragedy  on  Shipboabd, 

One  of  the  passengers  who  was  disputing  with  Capt. 
Brainard  claimed  to  have  been  in  Mexico  with  General  Scott, 
and  extolled  his  General.  "  What  did  he  do?"  asked  the 
captain.  "  He  took  a  '  hasty  plate  of  soup,' didn't  he?"  "He 
commanded  and  I  fought,"  said  the  volunteer.  "  You  fought, 
did  you?  What  did  you  fight — the  commissary  ? "  "  I  was 
in  many  battles,"  said  the  volunteer.  "  Oh,  yes;  in  the  can- 
teen, I  suppose,"  said  the  captain.  "  Look  here,  my  brave 
soldier,  while  your  friend  General  Scott  can  dispatch  a 
'  hasty  plate  of  soup,'  my  friend  General  Taylor  can  dispatch 
the  enemy — horse,  foot  and  dragoons." 

After  this  sally  there  was  silence  for  a  spell.  Then  they 
began  again  in  a  maudlin  way.  All  at  once  Capt.  Brainard 
cried  out,  "You  have  cut  me!  you  have  cut  me!  Help! 
help!"  I  jumped  out  of  my  berth  and  ran  out  on  deck,  where 
I  found  Capt.  Brainard  lying  across  the  top  of  the  booby 
hatch  with  the  blood  flowing  from  his  throat,  while  the 
other  man  stood  coolly  by  silently  looking  on.  I  ran  back 
into  the  cabin  and  gave  the  alarm.  All  the  passengers  arose 
from  their  berths,  the  captain  was  called  from  the  lower 
cabin,  and  the  wounded  captain  was  taken  into  the  cabin 
and  laid  upon  the  table.  An  examination  showed  that  his 
throat  was  cut  from  ear  to  ear.  The  captain  ordered  the 
quarter  boat  lowered  and  manned.  The  mate  was  ordered 
to  go  ashore  at  once  and  get  the  sheriff  and  the  doctor. 
The  captain  requested  me  to  go  with  the  mate,  which  I  did. 
AVe  went  ashore  while  Doctor  Doriot,  one  of  the  passengers, 
put  bandages  around  the  neck  of  the  wounded  man. 

When  we  arrived  ashore  it  was  twelve  o'clock.  As  we 
walked  up  the  broad  street  we  saw  a  light  in  one  house  only. 
We  went  up  to  it  and  found  that  it  was  the  hotel.  The  mate 
told  the  man  in  attendance  what  had  occurred  on  board  of 


A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans.  35 

our  ship,  and  said  that  he  wanted  to  get  the  sheriff  and  a 
doctor.  The  man  directed  us,  and  the  mate  told  me  to  go 
for  the  doctor  wliile  he  went  for  the  sheriff,  and  we  would 
meet  at  the  boat  at  the  landing.  I  went,  accompanied  by 
one  of  the  sailors,  and  aroused  the  doctor,  told  him  what 
had  taken  place,  and  begged  his  attendance,  fle  at  once 
prepared  himself,  took  his  satchel,  and  accompanied  us  to 
the  boat.  TN'hen  we  arrived  at  the  landing  we  found  the 
mate,  the  sheriff  and  his  deputy  already  there.  We  shoved 
off  at  once  and  hurried  to  the  ship. 

When  the  doctor  took  the  bandages  off  the  patient's 
neck  and  examined  him,  he  declared  that  it  was  a  most 
miraculous  escape  from  instant  death.  He  said  if  the  wound 
had  been  inflicted  upon  any  other  person  then  present — and 
he  looked  around  him — it  would  have  severed  his  jugular 
vein  and  he  would  have  at  once  bled  to  death.  He  then 
opened  his  satchel,  took  out  from  it  his  paraphernalia  and 
sewed  up  and  dre.ssed  the  wound.  He  ordered  the  patient 
to  be  taken  ashore  at  once. 

A  tackle  Avas  rigged  and  an  arm-chair  was  slung,  and  the 
wounded  man  was  gently  lowered  into  the  boat  and  stretched 
out  in  the  stern  sheets.  In  this  way  he  was  taken  ashore, 
and,  attended  by  the  doctor,  carried  to  the  hotel.  The 
other  quarter  boat  was  now  lowered  into  the  water  and  the 
sheriff  and  his  deputy  took  the  culprit  in  charge  and  were 
rowed  ashore. 

The  j)ilot  went  ashore  with  his  wounded  friend  and  saw 
that  he  was  comfortably  placed  in  bed  in  the  hotel,  and  left 
him  in  charge  of  the  doctor.  The  pilot  persuaded  Capt. 
Brainard  to  allow  his  son  to  take  his  place  on  board  the  ship 
and  take  charge  of  his  papers,  and  when  the  pilot  returned 
from  Cape  Henlopen  he  would  bring  back  the  father's  trunks 
with  the  exception  of  such  articles  of  wearing  apparel  as  the 
son  could  use  on  the  voyage  out.  All  this  being  arranged 
satisfactorily  the  pilot  returned  to  the  ship  and  explained  to 
Capt.  Blanchard  what  had  been  done,  and  he  seemed  to  ac- 
quiesce. The  mate  told  the  captain  that  the  sheriff  had  noti- 
fied him  to  come  on  shore  in  the  morning  with  all   those 


36  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

persons  that  were  cognizant  of  what  had  taken  place  on 
board  the  ship.  The  pilot  interposed,  .md  advised  the  cap- 
tain that,  it  being  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  the  wind 
having  sprung  up  light  in  the  northwest,  that  the  best  thing 
to  be  done  was  to  up  anchor  and  get  immediately  under  way, 
before  any  legal  papers  could  be  served  on  the  people  on 
board.  The  reasoning  of  the  pilot  was  so  cogent  that  ho 
consented  that  the  pilot  should  at  once  get  the  ship  under 
way  and  proceed  down  the  bay. 

When  the  mate  explained  to  the  passengers  the  threatened 
legal  detention,  every  one,  even  the  Frenchmen,  took  right 
hold  and  helped  to  heave  up  the  anchor,  and  pulled  and 
hauled  until  the  ship  was  under  way  and  scooting  down  the 
bay  under  a  freshening  breeze. 

By  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  were  quite  a  distance 
down  the  bay.  The  wind  being  fair,  the  mate  ordered  the 
topmast  studdingsails  to  be  bent  and  sent  out.  Next  the 
topgallant  studdingsails  were  set,  and  the  ship  was  making 
eight  knots  an  hour. 

During  the  forenoon  every  time  that  we  saw  a  fast  sailing 
schooner  overtaking  us,  we  thought  she  had  the  sheriff  on 
board  to  intercept  us.  Our  fears  were  groundless,  as  many 
fast  sailers  passed  us  without  taking  any  notice  of  us.  By 
dinner  time  the  passengers  who  had  been  apprehensive  of 
being  detained  regained  their  equanimity  and  ate  their  din- 
ner with  a  relish.  The  northwester  was  now  growing  strong. 
The  studdingsails  were  taken  in,  and  the  white  caps  on  the 
bay  began  to  give  us  a  premonition  of  what  we  might  expect 
when  we  got  outside.  By  five  P.  M.  we  were  abreast  of 
Cape  Henlopen  breakwater,  heading  for  sea.  At  half-past 
five  the  pilot  boat  came  up  under  our  starboard  quarter  and 
launched  her  dingey. 

The  captain  took  charge  of  the  ship  and  ordered  the 
courses  to  be  hauled  up  and  brought  the  ship  to  the  wind. 
The  mainyards  were  hove  back  and  the  little  dingey  bobbed 
up  under  our  lea.  The  captain  ordered  the  steward  to  toss 
a  big  chunk  of  beef  into  the  dingey.  The  captain  and  the 
pilot  descended  into  the  lower  cabin,  presumably  to  take  an 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


37 


observation  through  the  bottom  of  a  p'lass.  They  returned 
on  deck  wiping  the  moisture  from  their  lips.  The  pilot 
spoke  a  few  words  to  the  son  of  Capt.  Brainard,  shook  hands 
with  the  captain,  wished  him  a  safe  and  pleasant  voyage,  and 
descended  to  the  dingey,  shoved  off,  and  was  quickly  rowed 
to  the  pilot  boat. 

As  soon  as  the  pilot  left  the  captain  ordered  the  helm  to 
be  put  hard  up,  and  the  mainyards  to  be  swung  round.  The 
ship  was  soon  on  her  course  and  all  sails  were  set.  It  was 
now  6:30  P.  m.  and  we  were  now  on  the  broad  Atlantic,  with 
the  prospect  of  sailing  many  thousands  of  miles,  and  pass- 
ing through  many  vicissitudes  before  we  could  set  onr  feet 
on  "  terra  firma"  again. 

The  captain  took  his 
departure  from  Cape 
Henlopen,  Lat.  38°  47' 
N.,  Long.  75°  05'  W., 
distance  twelve  miles, 
bearing  west  by  north. 
This  was  all  noted  down 
for  the  reason  that  if 
the  sun  should  be  ob- 
^  scured  the  following  day 
the  position  of  the  ship 
could  be  ascertained  by  the  distance  run  and  the  course  that 
was  steered.  This  is  called  dead-reckoning.  The  auclior 
chains  were  now  unshackled  and  the  plugs  driven  into  the 
hawse  holes.  The  headboards  were  taken  in  and  the  decks 
were  cleared  up.  The  breeze  was  freshening.  The  three 
royals  were  taken  in  and  the  mainsail  was  hauled  up  and 
furled.  Our  course  was  south-east,  and  the  sea  began  to 
rise,  making  the  ship  roll  just  as  easy  as  an  old  fashioned 
cradle. 

At  half-past  seven  o'clock  the  mate  called  all  the  sailors 
to  the  waist  of  the  ship  and  ranged  them  in  line  so  as  to 
choose  the  watches.  The  first  mate  chose  the  first  man,  and 
that  happened  to  be  the  man  that  was  at  that  moment  at  the 
wheel.     The  second  mate,  whose  name  was  Bryson,  chose 


299120 


3S  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

the  second  man,  so  alternating  until  the  twelve  men  were 
selected — six  men  in  each  watch — the  first  mate  having  the 
larboard  watch  and  the  second  mate  the  starboard,  or  what 
is  called  the  captain's  watch.  At  eight  bells,  that  was  eight 
o'clock,  the  log  was  thrown  (which  is  a  measuring  line  di- 
vided into  knots  which  mark  a  nautical  mile  to  each  knot), 
and  it  marked  nine  knots — or  nine  nautical  miles  per  hour. 
The  ship  was  now  at  her  best  speed,  as  she  had  a  fair  wind, 
and  besides,  all  that  she  wanted.  The  second  mate  had  the 
first  watch  of  four  hours  duration,  terminating  at  twelve 
o'clock,  midnight;  or,  as  it  is  called  at  sea,  eight  bells. 

Now  commenced  the  sea  mode  of  marking  time.  At  half- 
past  eight  o'clock  the  man  at  the  wheel  struck  one  stroke  on 
a  small  bell  that  was  suspended  upon  a  brass  bell  gallows, 
over  the  binnacle,  where  the  compass  is  placed  to  guide  the 
helmsman  to  steer  the  ship  on  her  course.  When  the  small 
bell  sounded  the  stroke  one,  the  man  forward  on  the  look- 
out ran  to  a  much  larger  or  what  is  called  the  ship's  bell  and 
responded  by  striking  one  stroke.  So  it  continued  to  strike 
at  the  expiration  of  every  half  hour  until  the  end  of  the 
watch,  or  twelve  o'clock,  which  was  eight  bells.  Then  the 
other  watch  was  called  on  deck  and  the  watch  that  had  al- 
ready served  four  hours  went  below  to  sleep  four  hours.  At 
half-past  twelve  the  bell  was  struck  one  stroke,  as  at  half- 
past  eight,  and  each  half  hour  was  added  one  stroke  until 
the  end  of  the  watch  of  four  hours.  In  order  to  alternate 
the  watches  so  that  one  watch  shall  not  serve  at  the  same 
period  every  night  and  day,  one  four-hour  watch,  that  from 
4  P.  M.  to  8  p.  M.,  is  divided  into  two  watches,  called  the  dog 
watches.  This  causes  the  watch  that  serves  from  8  p.  M. 
till  12,  midnight,  one  night,  to  serve  from  12,  midnight, 
until  4  A.  M.  the  next  morning,  so  alternating  unceasingly  to 
the  end  of  the  voyage. 

The  first  night  at  sea  was  a  novelty  to  many  of  the  pas- 
sengers on  board,  and  as  the  wind  was  fair  northwest,  the 
sky  clear,  and  the  air  mild,  many  of  them  stayed  up  late. 
Mr.  Bryson,  the  second  mate,  who  had  charge  of  the  watch, 
told  me  that  he  was  a  native  Philadelphian  and  had  sailed 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  39 

for  many  years  in  Cope's  line  of  Liverpool  packets.  He  said 
be  was  bound  now  to  make  one  grand  stroke  for  a  fortune 
in  the  mines  of  California,  and  return  home  and  buy  a  little 
farm  in  Chester  Count}'  and  settle  down  with  his  family, 
"  under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree,  with  none  to  molest  or 
make  him  afraid." 

The  ship  was  steering  about  southeast  and  going  along 
with  an  easy,  rolling  motion,  that  made  newcomers  think 
that  going  to  sea  was  not  such  a  hardship  after  all.  About 
ten  o'clock,  or  four  bells,  I  turned  in;  and  to  me  it  was  a 
novel  experience,  for  never  had  I  been  on  board  of  a  ship 
before,  since  I  ceased  to  be  a  cabin  boy,  without  having  a 
watch  to  stand  some  time  during  the  night. 

I  arose  at  five  o'clock,  or  two  bells,  the  next  morning, 
and  saw  that  the  wind  had  moderated.  The  royals  were  set 
and  the  starboard  watch  were  engaged  in  getting  up  the 
lower  studding  sails  out  of  the  booby  hatch.  By  seven 
bells  all  the  studding  sails  had  been  set  alow  and  aloft. 
The  two  immense  lower  studding  sails,  with  long,  swinging- 
booms,  made  the  ship  look  like  some  gigantic  bird,  skim- 
miug  the  water  with  its  great  wings  spread.  At  eight  o'clock, 
Avlien  the  steward  rang  the  bell  to  summon  the  passengers  to 
breakfast,  I  went  to  the  table  and  found  there  were  six  of 
us  only.  The  balance  of  them  were  either  looking  over  the 
side  or  lying  helplessly  in  their  berths.  The  rest  of  us  had 
to  eat,  and  we  did  eat.  We  had  fried  ham,  boiled  hominy, 
hot  biscuit  and  coffee. 

All  this  day  the  crew  were  kept  busy  making  everything 
snug  on  deck  — lashing  spars,  water  casks,  barrels  of  beef, 
pork  and  crates  of  potatoes  and  onions.  The  ship  was  now 
rolling  before  the  wind  like  an  old  fashioned  seventy-four 
gun  ship.  Every  few  minutes  the  lower  stun'  sail  booms 
would  swoop  into  the  water,  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the 
other,  with  force  enough  to  almost  wrench  them  from  their 
sockets  in  the  deck  stanchions. 

At  twelve  meridian  the  captain,  who  had  been  observing 
the  sun  with  his  sextant,  sung  out,  "Twelve  o'clock!"  at 
which  the  man  at  the  wheel  struck  eight  bells,  and  the  bell 


40  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

abaft  the  foremast  was  struck  responsive;  the  mate  corrected 
the  marine  clock  in  the  binnacle  to  correspond  to  the  change 
in  longitude. 

When  the  dinner  bell  rang  at  one  o'clock,  the  same  per- 
sons appeared  as  at  breakfast.  Thej,  being  old  shellbacks, 
were  not  affected  bj  the  motion  of  the  ship.  The  dinner 
consisted  of  salt  beef,  salt  pork,  cabbage,  potatoes,  and  plum 
duff  with  wine  sauce.  There  we  sat  and  enjoyed  onr  dinner, 
while  the  poor  fellows  that  were  lying  in  their  berths  wished 
that  they  had  gone  to  California  by  ox  team  or  stayed  at 
home  in  comfort.  But  we  knew  that  their  discomfort  was 
only  temporary  and  that  in  a  day  or  two  they  would  be  able 
to  eat  their  allowance  with  a  better  relish  than  they  ever  did 
before. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  man  who  started  for 
California  in  those  days  had  to  be  a  man  of  substance,  with 
sufficient  means  to  support  his  family  during  his  absence 
and  have  enough  besides  to  pay  his  own  expenses  to  reach 
the  land  of  gold.  Therefore,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  a 
finer,  more  enterprising  or  determined  body  of  men  never 
collected  before,  than  those  that  came  to  California  from  the 
year  1849  to  1852. 

Our  fellow  passengers  were  unnerved  and  weakened  by 
the  terrible  seasickness,  but  when  they  recovered  from  it 
and  their  natural  buoyant  ambition  reasserted  itself,  they 
showed  themselves  to  be  men  fit  to  found  a  State  on  the 
Pacific  Slope. 

The  fair  wind  continued  for  two  days,  after  which  it  mod- 
erated to  a  four  knot  breeze  and  the  sky  became  overclouded. 
We  were  now  approaching  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  the  captain 
ordered  one  of  the  men  to  draw  a  bucket  of  water  from  over 
the  ship's  side,  wherein  he  immersed  the  thermometer,  to 
ascertain  the  temperature  of  the  ocean. 

The  Gulf  Stream  is  a  subaqueous  stream  of  water  that 
commences  to  flow  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  thence  into  the 
Straits  of  Florida  between  the  Florida  Coast  and  the  Island 
of  Cuba  and  the  Bahama  Islands.  Its  course  is  to  the  north- 
east and  its  speed,  between  the  Capes  of  Florida  and  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  41 

Double-headed  Shot  Keys  is  often  as  much  as  six  miles  per 
hour.  It  pours  into  the  Atlantic  Oceau,  continuing  its 
course  within  a  distance  of  from  two  hundred  to  as  near  as 
forty  miles  from  the  coast  off  Cape  Hatteras,  until  it  loses 
itself  beyond  the  Labrador  Coast  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Banks 
of  New  Foundland.  The  temperature  is  from  ten  to  fifteen 
degrees  warmer  than  the  water  on  each  side  of  it.  In  the 
winter  time  vessels  that  approach  the  Gulf  Stream  from  the 
frozen  coast  of  New  England  can  discern  it  by  the  dense 
vapor  that  hangs  over  it,  reminding  them  of  a  huge  cauldron 
of  boiling  water  emitting  volumes  of  steam.  The  Gulf 
Stream  is  much  more  liable  to  storms  than  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  is  on  either  side  of  it. 

We  were  now  getting  into  the  gulf  stream  and  the  cap- 
tain was  apprehensive  of  the  approach  of  the  line  gale,  so 
called  because  the  sun  crosses  the  equator  to  the  south 
about  the  twenty-second  of  September,  and  it  is  always  fol- 
lowed by  a  gale  of  wind,  more  or  less  severe,  within  a 
month  thereafter. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1843,  was  the  most  terrific  and 
disastrous  gale  of  any  known  up  to  that  time  on  the  coast  of 
New  England.  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann  alone  lost  more 
thau  forty  vessels  that  had  been  engaged  in  fishing  and 
coasting.  The  devastating  effects  of  the  gale  reached  as  far 
south  as  the  Savannah  river.  Therefore,  knowing  all  this, 
the  captain  was  very  careful  for  the  safety  of  the  ship. 

At  8  P.  M.,  the  wind  being  baffling  and  the  sky  obscured 
by  heavy  clouds,  the  captain  ordered  the  second  mate,  who 
had  the  first  watch  that  night,  to  call  him  if  there  was  the 
least  change  in  the  weather.  The  barometer  was  falling, 
which  was  a  sure  indication  of  an  approaching  change  in  the 
weather  and  a  probable  storm.  At  four  bells  the  wind  was 
like  a  faint  breath  and  the  sails  were  lazily  flapping  against 
the  masts  with  every  undulation  of  the  ship.  At  six  bells 
the  second  mate  watched  the  barometer,  which  hung  in  the 
upper  cabin,  and  found  that  the  mercury  was  falling  apace. 
The  indications  were  so  threatening  that  the  second  mate 
went  into  the  lower  cabin  and  called  Capt.  Blanchard.     He 


42  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

soon  came  on  deck  with  his  English  pea-jacket  and  his  sou'- 
wester on  and  trumpet  in  hand.  He  scanned  the  weather 
horizon  for  a  minute  and  then  told  the  second  mate  to  call 
all  hands. 

I  was  standing  on  the  quarter  deck  when  the  captain 
came  up,  and  when  I  saw  his  fine,  manly  form  and  his  com- 
manding appearance,  it  inspired  me  with  a  confidence  in  his 
ability  as  a  master  of  a  ship.  But,  I  thought,  what  a  pity 
it  was  that  so  fine  and  dignified  a  body  should  contain  so 
small  and  narrow  soul.  The  watch  soon  tumbled  up  and  in 
the  meantime  the  captain  had  ordered  the  royals  and  top- 
gallant sails  to  be  furled.  Next  the  courses  were  hauled  up 
and  furled,  the  fore  and  main  spencers  were  brailed  up,  and 
the  flying  jib  was  stowed.  It  now  began  to  spit  rain,  and 
was  as  dark  as  a  nigger's  pocket. 

The  second  mate  reported  to  the  captain  that  the  barom- 
eter stood  29.05.  Still  there  was  no  wind.  The  fore  and 
mizzentopsails  were  clewed  down  and  furled.  Then  the 
maintopsail  was  close  reefed  and  the  jib  was  hauled  down 
and  stowed.  Now  the  ship  was  under  snug  sail,  close  reefed 
maintopsail,  forestaysail  and  the  spanker,  still  there  was  no 
wind,  but  there  were  portentious  signs  of  impending  trouble. 

About  eight  bells  there  was  a  sound  in  the  air  like  the 
escaping  of  suppressed  steam,  sounding  like  "sizzz,  sizzz." 
The  sound  grew  louder  and  louder  and  nearer.  The  sea 
began  to  display  phosphorescent  glittering  particles  as 
though  it  was  in  a  blaze.  The  sky  was  as  black  as  a  pall. 
All  at  once  the  gale  struck  the  ship  and  threw  her  nearly  on 
her  beam  ends.  I  never  received  such  a  shock  in  all  my 
experience.  The  maintopsail,  although  nearly  new  and 
close  reefed,  was  blown  out  of  the  boltropes  as  if  it  had 
been  tissue  paper.  The  spanker  followed  the  topsail,  while 
the  forestaysail  held  its  own.  The  captain  ordered  the  helm 
to  be  put  hard  up,  and  ordered  an  additional  man  to  the 
wheel.  The  ship  obeyed  the  helm  promptly  and  began  to 
pay  off  and  was  soon  before  the  wind.  The  forestaysail  was 
now  taken  in  and  the  ship  was  scudding  under  bare  poles 
before  the  terrible  hurricane.     At  the  first  blast  of  the  gale 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  43 

the  sea  was  comparatively  smooth,  but  in  a  short  time  the 
big  combers  begau  to  lift  near  the  stern.  An  hour  after  the 
gale  struck  the  ship  the  seas  were  running  mountains  high. 
We  were  running  before  a  terrific  southeaster,  and  the  ship 
creaked  and  groaned  in  every  joint  and  it  seemed  as  if  she 
could  not  hold  together.  Great  combers  arose  near  our 
stern,  as  if  they  were  about  to  engulf  us,  but  each  time  the 
ship  would  shoot  ahead  and  escape.  The  captain  ordered 
that  life  lines  be  placed  around  the  waists  of  the  two  men  at 
the  helm,  and  that  the  ends  be  well  secured.  The  huge 
waves,  with  crested  heads,  would  seem  like  living  sea  mon- 
sters looking  at  us,  fifty  feet  over  our  heads,  as  though  they 
would  overwhelm  and  engulf  us  at  once.  The  ship  behaved 
beautifully  and  proved  herself  a  fine  seaboat,  and  rose  and 
fell  in  harmony  with  each  passing  wave  as  it  swept  past  us. 
All  at  once  an  ugly  towering  wave  approached  the  ship  from 
astern.  It  came  with  overwhelming  force.  The  captain 
sung  out,  "Look  out!"  and  the  sea  came  over  the  stern  and 
pooped  the  ship.  It  swept  everything  before  it.  The  two 
men  at  the  helm  were  carried  from  their  post  as  if  they  had 
been  two  wisps  of  straw,  but  the  precautionary  measures 
taken  by  the  captain  saved  them,  and  the  life  lines  enabled 
them  to  save  themselves  from  injury.  The  lower  cabin  sky- 
light was  wrenched  from  its  fastenings  and  the  cabin  was 
drenched  with  water.  The  starboard  quarter  boat  was  lifted 
from  its  fastenings  and  wedged  between  the  bulwark  and 
the  upper  cabin.  The  ship  was  waterlogged,  and  every- 
thing that  was  not  well  secured  on  the  main  deck  was  float- 
ing around,  thereby  endangering  the  lives  of  the  men,  who 
were  hanging  on  to  anything  that  was  solid  enough  to  hold 
on  by.  The  upper  cabin  was  full  of  water  up  to  the  first 
tier  of  berths.  The  steward  and  the  cook,  who  had  their 
room  abaft  the  galley,  were  nearly  carried  overboard,  but 
were  saved  by  the  brawny  arms  of  the  second  mate,  Mr, 
Bryson.  The  ship  had  nearly  lost  her  steerageway.  The 
captain  and  mate  were  the  first  to  jump  to  the  helm,  and  for 
five  minutes  it  seemed  as  if  it  was  all  up  with  us.  After 
that  the  ship  began  to  free  herself  and  obeyed  her  helm. 


44  A  Tate  of  Two  Oceans. 

The  decks  were  being  freed  from  the  water  that  was  swash- 
ing about,  and  we  began  to  breathe  easier. 

Daylight  now  began  to  appear,  and  the  captain  ordered 
the  mate  to  get  out  a  new  maintopsail  out  of  the  sailroom 
and  have  it  bent.  All  hands  were  set  to  work,  and  after 
long  continued  labor  and  much  risk,  it  was  bent.  It  was  at 
once  close  reefed  and  set.  Now  came  the  most  dangerous 
performance  that  a  ship  can  be  subjected  to  when  she  has 
been  running  before  the  wind  in  a  gale;  that  is,  to  bring  her 
up  to  the  wind  without  swamping  her.  The  captain  ordered 
all  hands  to  man  the  braces,  and  watched  his  opportunity — 
for  in  the  severest  gale  there  are  periods  when  the  waves 
don't  break  so  hard,  for  a  short  S])ell,  as  they  do  in  its  most 
furious  moments.  The  watched  for  chance  came.  ' '  Port  your 
helm  four  spokes,"  said  the  captain.  "Aye,  aye,  sir!"  was 
answered  by  the  man  at  the  wheel.  ' '  Ease  away  on  your  star- 
board braces  and  haul  in  on  your  lee  ones.''  It  was  done. 
The  ship  came  up  gently — she  came  up  to  the  trough  of  the 
sea.  Now  was  our  greatest  danger.  • '  Hard  down  your  helm  ! 
Slack  away  on  your  weather  braces  and  haul  in  sharp  on 
your  lee  ones."  The  ship  came  up  sharply,  and  just  then  a 
sea  struck  her  amidships  and  broke  over  the  starboard  side 
and  partially  filled  the  decks,  but  the  ship  continued  to  come 
up  to  the  wind  until  she  lay  close  to  the  wind,  and  was 
lyiog  to  with  an  easy  motion. 

The  captain  now  ordered  the  steward  to  go  down  into 
the  run  of  the  ship  and  draw  a  bucket  of  New  England  rum 
and  bring  it  on  deck.  The  rum  was  brought  up,  and  also  a 
pitcher  and  two  tumblers,  and  placed  near  the  capstan. 
The  captain  told  the  mate  to  treat  the  men.  Mr.  Bryson, 
the  second  mate,  sang  out:  "Lay  aft  here,  all  hands,  and 
splice  the  mam  brace!  "  "Aye,  aye,  sir!  "  responded  the  men 
in  one  voice,  as  they  hurried  aft  to  the  capstan.  Then  Mr. 
Bryson  filled  the  pitcher  from  the  bucket  of  rum  and  served 
each  man  with  a  generous  nip  in  the  tumbler.  When  all  the 
sailors  had  been  served,  then  came  his  turn  to  serve  himself 
and  the  good-hearted  Mr.  Bryson  took  the  traditional  second 
mate's  nip,  four  fingers  and  a  thumb;  or,  more  plainly  speak- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  45 

ing,  the  biggest  of  the  two  tumblers,  brimful,  as  the  motion 
of  the  ship  allowed.  After  this  hearty  swig  he  took  a  long 
breath,  smacked  his  lips,  and  said :  "I  wish  my  mother  had 
fed  me  with  just  such  porridge  as  that." 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  the  ship  being  trimmed  too 
much  by  the  stern  she  payed  ofi  too  much  and  shipped  some 
water.  The  captain  then  ordered  the  storm  trysail  to  be 
brought  up  and  bent;  as  soon  as  this  aftersail  was  put  on  the 
ship,  although  it  was  a  very  small  sail  made  of  extra  heavy 
canvas,  it  brought  the  ship  up  to  the  wind,  and  she  rode  like 
a  duck  on  the  water,  for  the  storm  trysail,  at  the  mizzen, 
kept  her  nose  well  up  to  the  wind  and  she  rode  safely.  The 
barometer  had  now  fallen  to  29°,  and  the  gale  continued  un- 
abated, and  the  wind  veered  from  east  southeast  to  south 
southeast. 

This  terrible  storm  reminded  me  of  the  words  of  Holy 
Writ:  "Thou  breakest  the  ships  of  Tarshish  with  an  east 
wind  " — (48th  Psalms,  7tli  verse).  Thus  showing  clearly  that 
even  in  the  day  of  King  David  the  east  wind  was  greatly 
dreaded. 

Now  that  everything  had  been  made  as  snug  as  possible 
under  the  very  trying  circumstances,  the  men  whose  watch 
was  below  were  allowed  to  go  to  their  four  hours  rest,  which 
they  sadly  needed;  while  the  watch  on  deck  had  only  to 
stand  by  the  helm,  which  was  kept  hard  down  and  lashed 
there,  while  one  man  kept  a  look-out  ahead.  These  men, 
when  passing  about  the  decks,  were  obliged  to  hold  on  to 
the  life-lines  that  had  been  stretched  fore  and  aft  along  the 
bulwarks.     Thus  the  ship  continued  for  two  days. 

During  this  time  we  had  not  seen  the  sun  for  more  than 
two  minutes  at  a  time,  therefore  we  were  unable  to  obtain 
an  observation;  for  that  reason  the  captain  had  to  trust  to 
his  dead-reckoning  in  order  to  ascertain  the  position  of  the 
ship. 

On  the  third  night,  about  nine  o'clock,  when  darkness  of 
the  densest  kind  prevailed  and  the  wind  was  whistling 
through  the  rigging  and  producing  sounds  like  a  mournful 
requiem,  a  phenomenon  appeared  which  struck  fear  into  the 


46  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

stoutest  heart.  This  was  the  appearance  of  three  liQ;htning 
balls  or  corposants — one  on  the  main  truck,  and  one  each 
on  the  ends  of  the  maint'gallant  yard.  This,  it  was  thought, 
portended  some  dreadful  catastrophe.  It  caused  every  one 
that  saw  it  to  feel  very  uneasy.  Although  I  had  seen  the 
like  before  I  still  was  now  very  seriously  impressed  by  this 
awful  sign  in  the  heavens,  under  such  conditions,  with  wind 
roaring,  the  great  waves  mountain  high  and  foaming  and 
breaking.  I  derived  comfort  from  the  poetic  lines  of  Thomas 
Dibden:  "There  is  a  sweet  little  Cherub  who  sits  up  aloft 
that  looks  out  for  the  life  of  poor  Jack."  These  words  gave 
me  much  comfort  and  did  much  to  allay  my  apprehensions. 
By  10  P.  M.  the  gale  began  to  abate.  It  would  blow  vio- 
lently for  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  and  then  gradually  subside. 
By  11  o'clock  P.  M.  there  was  a  change  taking  place  in  the 
weather.  It  had  been  dark  up  to  that  time,  but  it  became 
so  dark  now  that  a  man  could  not  see  his  hand  before  him. 
The  chief  mate  went  and  called  the  captain,  who  came  on 
deck  at  once.  As  the  ship  was  under  the  shortest  possible 
sail,  nothing  more  could  be  done  in  that  direction.  We 
waited  for  events.  The  three  fiery  balls  had  vanished,  and 
the  wind  had  lulled  to  a  mere  breeze.  The  ship  was  now 
rolling  and  pitching  in  obedience  to  the  motion  of  the  tum- 
bling waves.  Suddenly,  without  premonition,  there  was  a 
blinding  flash  of  lightning  that  illuminated  the  space  around 
and  showed  every  part  of  the  ship  and  masts  and  rigging  as 
clearly  as  if  it  had  been  high  noon  on  a  clear  day.  Then 
followed  a  noise  so  tremendous  that  it  was  indescribable. 
Just  imagine  that  one  thousand  steam  railroad  engines, 
coming  from  opposite  directions  and  meeting  on  a  bridge 
that  spans  a  mountain  over  a  chasm  hundreds  of  feet  in 
depth,  and  in  the  very  center  of  it  coming  in  contact  and 
crashing  in  one  fell  swoop  and  falling  to  the  very  bottom  of 
the  abyss,  and  the  same  instant  exploding  the  boilers  of 
every  one  of  them.  This  would  be  dreadful,  but  it  would 
bear  but  a  faint  comparison  to  the  clap  of  thunder  which 
followed  the  lightning's  flash.     Every  man  on  the  deck  was 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  47 

thrown  down  by  the  dreadful  shock.  The  ship  trembled 
like  an  aspen  leaf,  and  we  all  thought  that  the  thunderbolt 
had  struck  her,  but,  thanks  to  a  kind  Providence,  she  was 
spared.  This  was  followed  by  a  stillness  that  was  painful 
to  experience.  Every  man  on  board  the  ship  jumped  out  of 
his  berth  and  waited  in  fear  and  trembling  for  what  would 
come  next.  We  soon  felt  large  drops  of  rain  falling;  it  came 
faster  and  more  of  it,  until  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  flood- 
gates of  heaven  had  been  entirely  opened.  It  poured  in  such 
volume  that  the  scuppers  could  not  free  the  deck  and  the 
portholes  had  to  be  opened.  The  men  had  to  hold  on  to 
life  lines  while  they  were  wading  about  the  deck,  and  what- 
ever small  articles  that  were  not  secured  floated  out  to  sea 
through  the  portholes.  The  sea,  which  had  been  so  rough, 
was  actually  beaten  down  by  the  force  of  the  rain  to  the 
smoothness  of  a  millpond. 

In  about  half  an  hour  the  rain  began  to  slack.  There 
were  rifts  in  the  clouds  that  allowed  us  to  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  clear  blue  sky.  Soon  the  rain  ceased  altogether  and  the 
beautiful  blue  vault  of  heaven,  with  its  myriad  of  stars,  was 
again  in  full  view,  while  the  clouds  were  rolling  to  the  south 
and  southeast.  A  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  nor'west  and 
the  captain  ordered  the  fore  and  mizzentopsails  set,  and 
the  reefs  to  be  shaken  out  of  the  maintopsail.  The  courses 
were  next  loosed  and  dropped,  and  one  after  another  every 
sail  was  set  to  the  favoring  breeze.  Daylight  was  now  com- 
ing on  apace  and  brought  to  my  mind  the  beautiful  hymn : 

"  The  light  of  day  is  breaking, 
The  darkness  disappears." 

All  hands  were  now  busy  making  sail,  as  the  weather  was 
now  promising  in  its  signs.  The  barometer  had  risen  to  30, 
and  still  rising.  Soon  the  rays  in  the  eastern  horizon  gave 
us  premonition  of  the  coming  of  the  beautiful  orb  of  day, 
the  sun.  It  soon  arose  from  its  ocean  bed  in  all  its  glorious 
effulgence,  giving  promise  of  a  clear  day  and  pleasant 
weather.  Our  hearts  now  turned  to  God  in  silent  thankful- 
ness for  his  mercy  and  loving  kindness  in  having  thus  spared 
us  from  a  terrible  fate. 


48  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

"  The  spacious  firmanent  on  liigh, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heaven's  shining  frame, 
Their  great  original  proclaim. 
The  unwearied  sun  from  day  to  day, 
Does  his  creator's  i^owers  display. 
And  publishes  to  every  land, 
The  work  of  an  almighty  hand." 

At  8  A.  M.  the  mate  came  on  deck  with  his  sextant  and 
observed  the  altitude  of  the  sun,  while  the  captain  marked 
the  time  by  the  chronometer  in  the  cabin.  By  this  process 
the  navigator  can  ascertain  the  distance,  east  or  west,  from 
Greenwich,  which  is  the  initial  point  for  longitude  in  all  the 
English  and  American  charts. 

At  12  meridian,  when  the  sun  had  reached  its  zenith,  the 
captain  and  the  mate  having  noted  its  altitude  in  degrees  by 
sextant,  figured  out  the  latitude,  thereby  ascertaining  the 
exact  position  of  the  ship  upon  the  broad  ocean,  thereby 
proving  the  advantages  of  the  noble  science  of  navigation. 
During  the  day  the  deck  and  lower  rigging  were  covered 
with  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  sailors'  and  passengers' 
clothing  which  had  been  hung  up  to  dry,  reminding  me  of 
the  second-hand  clothing  stores  on  Chatham  street,  in  New 
York.  Every  face  on  board  the  ship  wore  a  smiling  look. 
The  terrible  experience  which  we  had  passed  through  had 
produced  a  softening  influence  on  all  of  us.  Oa  this  day 
the  cook  exerted  himself  and  prepared  a  sea  pie  for  our  din- 
ner. A  sea  pie  consists  of  onions  fried  brown,  lean  pork, 
cut  in  small  pieces,  potatoes  cut  in  quarters,  and  then  all 
simmered  together;  then  make  dough  enough  to  cover  the 
sides  of  the  baking  pan,  and  after  the  sides  are  covered,  put 
in  the  filling  of  stew,  season  with  tomato  ketchup  and  pep- 
per, sprinkle  in  a  little  dry  flour  to  thicken  it,  and  cover  the 
pan  with  a  thick  crust  and  put  it  in  the  oven  for  two  hours. 
In  the  absence  of  chicken  or  fresh  beef  this  is  a  very  palata- 
ble dish.  Besides  the  pie  we  had  a  large  plum-dufl'.  The 
dinner  was  eaten  with  thankful  hearts  which  gave  it  relish, 
it  being  the  first  regular  cooked  dinner  in  four  days.  The 
weather  had  now  settled  down  pleasant  with  a  steady  sis 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  49 

knot  breeze.  We  now  discovered  a  new  source  of  worri- 
ment  and  anxiety.  The  late  gale  had  so  strained  thtj  ship 
that  she  had  began  to  leak  quite  seriously.  Pumping  the 
usual  time  of  fifteen  minutes  we  found  that  the  water  was 
not  out  of  the  ship,  so  the  second  mate  took  the  sounding 
rod  and  shoved  it  down  into  the  pumpwell.  When  he  drew 
out  the  rod  he  measured,  and  found  that  at  least  fourteen 
inches  of  water  remained  in  the  ship.  The  ship  had  two 
very  fine  metallic  pumps  which  the  captain  said  had  been 
placed  in  her  on  the  last  voyage  he  made  to  Liverpool. 
They  were  worked  by  a  rotary  crank  attached  to  which  was  a 
very  heavy  flywheel,  and  the  two  pumps  threw  water  quite 
equal  in  volume  to  a  fire  engine.  With  this  double  geared 
apparatus  the  crew,  with  the  aid  of  the  passengers,  freed 
the  ship  of  the  water  in  the  space  of  two  hours.  When  the 
pumps  began  to  suck  our  fears  were  relieved,  for  it  proved 
to  us  that  the  leak  was  not  beyond  our  control. 

The  captain  now  ordered  the  mates  to  have  the  ship 
pumped  out  every  two  hours  instead  of  every  four  hours  as 
heretofore.  This  increased  leak  of  course  augmented  the 
labor  of  the  crew  very  much  and  thereby  created  a  certain 
measure  of  discontent  among  them,  and  more  particularly 
as  their  food  was  inferior  in  quality,  and  not  very  well  pre- 
pared at  that,  as  the  captain  never  approached  the  galley 
or  seemed  to  care  as  to  how  his  sailors  fared.  The  cook 
took  advantage  of  the  indifference  of  the  captain  about  the 
welfare  of  the  sailors  and  served  out  their  food  in  a  happy- 
go-lucky  kind  of  manner,  that  proved  the  truth  of  the  old 
adage,  "  like  master  like  man,"  and  the  sailors  were  the  suf- 
ferers. Salt  meat,  not  soaked  and  but  half  cooked,  beans 
as  hard  as  bullets,  and  the  duff  as  heavy  as  lead.  As  I  was 
a  sailor  myself  I  took  notice  of  all  this. 

We  were  now  in  latitude  31  07  N.,  and  longitude  52  15 
W.  The  gale  of  the  past  week  had  driven  us  back  over  the 
greatest  part  of  our  distance  previously  gained;  but  now  we 
had  settled,  clear  weather  and  a  fair  wind.  The  passengers 
now  cast  about  for  something  to  do  in  order  that  the  time 
might  pass  by  pleasantly.     Beading  and  talking  becomes 


50  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

irksome  after  a  time;  therefore  a  class  was  formed  to  learn 
the  French  language.  Mon.  Bayard,  a  learned  French  gen- 
tleman, was  selected  to  be  the  teacher,  but  we  soon  found 
out  that  in  order  to  teach  us  the  French  language  he  would 
be  obliged  to  first  learn  the  English  language.  In  order  to 
overcome  this  difficulty  we  appealed  to  Dr.  Doriot,  a  gentle- 
man who  was  born  in  Philadelphia  of  French  parents,  and 
therefore  Avas  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  French  lan- 
guage as  well  as  his  native  English.  The  doctor  showed  no 
disposition  to  aid  us.  He  preferred  to  read  French  novels 
and  smoke  cigars  at  his  ease.  For  this  reason  we  made  but 
sorry  progress  with  our  French  lessons. 

Capt.  Blanchard  was  a  man  that  boasted  a  great  deal 
about  what  he  used  to  do  when  he  was  mate  in  the  "  Black 
Ball  "  line  of  packets  that  ran  between  New  York  and  Liver- 
pool. That,  as  a  mate  of  a  ship,  he  had  never  been  in  a 
vessel  where  there  was  an  afternoon  watch  below  allowed, 
and  as  master  of  a  ship  he  had  never  allowed  it  nor  would 
he  allow  it  on  this  voyage  only  at  such  times  as  when  the 
ship  would  be  put  under  double  reefed  topsails.  At  other 
times,  all  hands  should  be  on  deck  from  1  p.  M.  till  5  P.  m., 
at  which  time  the  men  could  take  their  supper.  He  in- 
structed his  two  mates  to  enforce  this  rule — under  this  rule 
all  hands  had  to  work  on  the  rigging,  or  making  chafing  mats 
or  mending  the  sails,  during  the  afternoons.  His  boast  was 
that  when  he  was  mate  of  the  ship  "  Koscius,"  of  the  "  Black 
Ball"  lint),  that  the  shipping  master  would  put  a  crew  on 
board  who  would  give  it  out  on  board  that  they  were  deter- 
mined to  carry  everything  before  them  with  a  high  hand; 
but  they  would  find  out,  to  their  sorrow,  before  the  ship  ar- 
rived in  Liverpool,  that  they  had  reckoned  without  their 
host.  "For,"  said  he,  "my  rule  with  sailors  was  a  word 
and  a  blow,  and  the  blow  came  first.  I  was  at  one  time  mate 
with  Capt.  Jabez  Percival,  an  old  Cape  Cod  man,  on  the 
ship  '  Lady  Siddons.'  And  he  used  to  say  to  me,  '  Walk  in- 
to the  scoundrels,  Mr.  Blanchard,  and  Fll  back  you  up,  sir. 
Give  it  to  'em,  right  and  left,  and  keep  'em  on  a  jump.  I'll 
tell  you  what,  Mr.  Blanchard,  there  was  an  old  Grand  Bank 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  51 

fishing  captain  in  my  town  named  Capt.  Dean  Linnell,  and 
he  was  noted  for  bringing  home  every  fall  a  larger  catch  of 
codfish  than  any  other  Grand  Banker  that  cleared  out  of  the 
Barnstable  custom  house.  His  motto  was:  "I'll  keep  no 
more  cats  than  what  will  catch  mice."  And  every  man  that 
ships  aboard  my  schooner  is  given  to  understand  that  his 
fishing  line  must  be  kept  over  the  side  every  day,,  excepting 
Sundays,  or  when  the  weather  will  not  permit  it.  And  from 
the  strict  adherence  to  this  practice  comes  my  success.' 
Then,"  said  the  captain,  "  keep  all  hands  on  deck,  Mr. 
Cranston,  all  afternoons  when  the  weather  will  permit." 
The  leak  was  not  increasing  but  it  was  bad  enough  to  keep 
the  watch  pumping  for  half  an  hour  in  every  two  hours; 
this,  added  to  their  regular  duties,  made  it  quite  severe  on 
the  crew. 

It  was  the  fifteenth  day  out,  in  the  forenoon,  while  I 
was  sitting  on  a  water  cask  over  the  main  hatch,  that  Capt. 
Blanchard  came  to  where  I  sat  and  saluted  me  in  a  most 
cordial  manner.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  What  are  you  reading 
so  earnestly  ?  "  "I  am  reading  the  life  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin." "Well,  that  is  an  instructive  book;  but  it  seems  to 
me  that  time  must  hang  very  heavy  on  your  hands."  "  No, 
sir;  I  like  to  read  instructive  books,  and  Franklin  lays  down 
some  excellent  maxims  for  young  men,  to  guide  them  in 
life."  He  then  proceeded:  "What  do  yon  think  of  the 
gale  that  we  have  passed  through?"  "I  think,  sir,  that  it 
was  the  most  severe  that  I  ever  have  experienced."  "Is 
that  so?  "  "  Yes,  sir."  "  While  I  admit  that  it  was  a  pretty 
severe  spell  of  bad  weather,  I'll  tell  you  it  wasn't  a  circum- 
stance to  the  (me  I  was  in  when  I  was  mate  of  the  '  Shak- 
speare,'  in  the  'Black  Ball'  line,  with  Capt.  Nye  in  com- 
mand— and  a  better  man  never  trod  a  ship's  deck.  We  left 
New  York  for  Liverpool  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  November. 
As  we  passed  out  by  Sandy  Hook  the  wind  was  west  nor'west 
and  a  stiff  breeze.  The  weather  was  clear  and  a  high  ba- 
rometer. We  put  every  inch  of  canvas  on  the  ship,  and 
she  felt  it.  It  sent  her  a-kiting  through  the  water.  AVe 
came  up  with  a  number  of  coasters  and  we  went  by  them  as 


52  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

if  they  were  lying  at  anchor.  We  carried  the  breeze  vary- 
ing from  west  nor'west  to  west  southwest,  until  we  were  over 
the  banks  of  New  Foundland,  and  we  had  a  fine  prospect 
for  a  quick  passage.  The  crew,  as  is  usual  in  the  Liverpool 
trade,  were  a  hard  set.  But  I  had  a  splendid  after  guard. 
The  second  mate,  Simpson  by  name,  was  a  regular  Hercules 
in  size,  and  was  as  spry  as  a  cat.  When  I  first  got  ac- 
quainted with  him  he  was  taking  a  little  recreation  onshore, 
and  to  pay  expenses  had  hired  a  room  in  Maiden  Lane  and 
was  giving  lessons  in  boxing.  I  was  introduced  to  him  by  a 
friend  who  was  mate  of  the  ship  'Prince  Albert,'  and  visited 
his  place  on  such  evenings  as  I  could  spare  from  my  other 
engagements  while  in  port.  I  considered  myself  no  chicken 
in  handling  my  flippers  at  that  time,  and  I  put  on  the  box- 
ing gloves  with  him,  after  paying  one  dollar,  which  was  his 
price  for  each  lesson  of  half  an  hour's  duration.  The  first 
evening  of  the  lesson  he  let  me  have  everything  my  own 
way.  I  tapped  him  on  his  bread-basket,  tickled  him  in  the 
ribs,  punched  him  on  the  nose,  and  gave  him  a  whack  on 
the  chin.  Well,  sir,  I  was  fairly  beside  myself  with  delight. 
I  never  had  such  a  high  opinion  of  my  skill  before  that  eve- 
ning, after  my  bout  with  Simpson.  He  congratulated  me 
for  my  skill  and  quickness,  while  several  of  the  spectators, 
who  had  been  looking  on,  shook  hands  with  me,  and  said  I 
was  a  trump.  Simpson  had  a  small  bar  fitted  up  at  the  fur- 
ther end  of  the  room,  which  was  attended  to  by  an  old  ship- 
mate of  his.  I  asked  all  hands  up  to  smile;  and  all  hands 
did  smile.  That  took  another  two  dollars,  but  I  didn't  mind 
the  expense,  for  I  felt  grand.  Simpson  asked  me  when  would 
I  call  upon  him  again?  I  replied  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  come  the  next  evening  as  I  had  an  engagement,  but 
on  the  evening  following  I  would  come,  sure.  So  I  left  him, 
feeling  myself  to  be  equal  to  Tom  Hyer,  the  celebrated 
pugilist  of  New  Yorli. 

"  The  second  evening  after  that  I  went  to  Simpson's  box- 
ing school,  paid  my  dollar,  put  on  the  boxing  gloves  to  take 
my  half  hour  lesson.  He  had  a  larger  number  of  scholars 
than  he  had  when  I  was  there  the  first  time.     He  put  on  his 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  53 

gloves  and  we  stood  facing  each  other.  I  didn't  like  his 
looks.  He  looked  wicked  around  the  eyes.  I  began  to  lose 
confidence  in  myself;  but  I  stood  up  to  him,  as  I  knew  that 
he  would  not  hit  very  hard.  However,  he  sung  out  to  me, 
*  Look  out.'  When  bang  !  went  his  right  on  my  chin.  Next 
his  left  caromed  on  my  stomach.  Then  he  swiped  me  all 
round.  In  fact,  I  found  Simpson  to  be  a  complete  thrash- 
ing machine.  In  fifteen  minutes  I  had  all  the  boxing  lesson 
that  I  wanted  for  that  night.  I  took  off  the  gloves,  treated 
all  hands,  and  bid  them  all  good  night.  Well,  sir,  I  felt 
mortified;  I  was  completely  cowed.  I  had  the  conceit 
thoroughly  taken  out  of  me.  The  truth  was  that  whereas 
I  had  thought  myself  a  pretty  tough  man  to  handle,  Simp- 
son had  taught  me  that  I  was  but  a  baby  in  the  fighting  line. 
I  conceived  a  plan  in  my  mind  and  proceeded  to  carry  it  out. 
On  the  next  evening  I  called  upon  Simpson  and  proposed  to 
him  that  he  join  the  '  Sliakspeare '  on  the  next  voyage  if  I 
could  arrange  the  matter  with  Capt.  Nye.  He  agreed  to  do 
so,  providing  that  I  could  make  a  definite  engagement  with 
him  before  the  ship  sailed.  I  approached  the  subject  with 
Capt.  Nye  by  speaking  of  the  second  mate,  whose  name  was 
Sears,  and  said  to  the  captain  that  while  Sears  was  an  am- 
bitious and  industrious  young  man  that  he  was  not  equal  to 
handling  a  crew  that  was  composed  of  such  a  hard  lot  as  was 
generally  found  on  board  of  a  '  Black  Ball '  liner,  and  con- 
sequently it  was  my  opinion  that  a  man  of  more  force  of 
character  and  greater  determination  would  secure  far  better 
service  in  working  the  ship.  I  then  told  him  of  a  man  that 
I  knew  who  had  been  second  mate  of  tlie  packet  ship  'Lady 
Washington,'  but  was  now  disengaged,  and  probably  could 
be  secured  for  the  next  voyage.  I  studiously  refrained  from 
mentioning  anything  about  his  pugilistic  abilities,  because 
it  might  have  prejudiced  the  captain  against  him.  For, 
while  Capt.  Nye  never  interfered  with  me  in  the  management 
of  the  crew,  he  well  knowing  that  they  scarcely  ever  made 
more  than  one  voyage  in  the  same  ship,  still  he  was  averse 
to  having  any  trouble  between  his  officers  and  his  men  if  it 
could  be  avoided.     Capt.  Nye  was  somewhat  religious  in  his 


54  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

predilections,  so  much  so  that  he  at  one  time  bought  a  mag- 
nificent bible,  and  purple  cushion  to  place  it  on,  for  the  pul- 
pit of  the  church  in  which  he  worshiped  in  his  bojhood 
days,  in  his  native  town  in  Massachusetts.  At  another  time 
he  had  a  large  bell  cast  in  Troy,  New  York,  which  he  sent 
to  his  native  town  to  be  placed  in  the  belfry  of  the  same 
church.  Therefore,  knowing  his  conservative  disposition,  I 
said  nothing  about  Simpson's  knocking  down  proclivities. 
When  I  pointed  out  the  advantage  that  would  accrue  to  the 
working  of  the  ship  he  gave  his  consent  for  me  to  engage 
Simpson  to  come  on  board  when  the  ship  returned  from 
Liverpool.  Before  we  left  I  made  the  arrangement  with 
Simpson  to  join  the  ship  on  the  next  voyage.  At  the  time 
of  which  I  am  now  speaking  we  had  laid  in  the  stream  for 
two  days  waiting  for  a  crew.  Most  of  the  sailors  that  sailed 
in  the  Liverpool  packets  during  the  summer  months  preferred 
to  ship  to  go  by  the  run  to  New  Orleans  or  Mobile  in  the 
fall  of  the  year  and  spend  the  winter  in  the  south  loading 
ships  with  cotton  for  Europe,  and  in  the  spring,  when  the 
season  of  business  activity  had  ended,  they  would  ship  in 
cotton  loaded  ships  for  Liverpool  or  Havre,  at  $25.00  or 
$30.00  for  the  run.  There  they  would  enjoy  themselves 
while  the  money  lasted,  and  then  make  their  way  back  to 
America.  For  this  reason  we  had  to  take  such  men  as  the 
shipping  master  could  pick  up.  In  consequence  we  had  as 
villainous  a  looking  twenty  men  as  I  ever  was  shipmates 
with. 

"  During  the  first  two  days  after  we  left  Sandy  Hook  all 
hands  were  engaged  securing  everything  about  the  decks  and 
putting  on  the  chafing  gear.  It  had  been  my  practice  to 
have  "both  watches  on  deck  from  1  p.  m.  till  5  p.  m.,  every 
day  excepting  Sunday  or  when  stormy  weather  prevented  it. 
Well,  as  I  said  before,  Simpson  was  the  second  mate;  Ste- 
vens the  bos'n  was  an  Irishman,  and  he  was  a  terror  to  evil- 
doers; then  there  was  Chips  the  carpenter,  and  Olsen  the 
sailmaker,  everyone  of  'em  as  true  as  steel,  and  could  be  de- 
pended on.  Well,  sir,  on  the  third  day  out,  at  1  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  I  told  the  bos'n  to  turn  all  hands  to  work. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  55 

He  went  forward  to  the  forecastle,  which  was  in  the  forward 
deck  house,  which  was  divided  into  galley  in  the  after  part 
and  forecastle  in  the  forward  part,  which  had  a  door  on  each 
side.  He  called  all  hands  to  turn  to  work.  But  not  a  man 
stepped  out  on  deck.  He  went  the  second  time  with  the 
same  result. 

"  I  held  a  short  consultation  with  the  second  mate,  after 
which  I  called  the  carpenter  and  the  sailmaker,  who  were 
located  by  themselves,  and  with  bos'n  just  abaft  the  main- 
mast, and  ordered  them  to  join  us,  and  we  went  forward  in 
a  body.  I  stood  in  the  doorway  of  the  forecastle  and  sung 
out:  '  Come  out  of  that,  every  one  of  you!'  But  not  a  man 
stirred.  Then  the  leader  spoke  up  and  said :  '  I  have  made 
many  a  winter  passage  from  New  York  to  Liverpool  and  this 
is  the  first  time  I  was  ever  called  upon  to  turn  to  work  in 
my  afternoon  watch  below,  after  everything  was  made  snug 
and  the  chafing  gear  put  on;  and  I  will  speak  for  myself  and 
all  my  shipmates — we  are  not  going  to  do  it  now.  Either 
give  us  the  afternoon  watch  below  or  you  may  sail  the  ship 
yourself.'  No  sooner  had  he  spoken  than  I  made  a  jump  for 
him.  As  I  grabbed  him  by  his  collar  he  let  fly  at  me  with 
his  right  fist.  But  I  had  been  there  before,  and  I  warded 
off  the  blow,  which  he  intended  should  be  a  sockdolager  for 
me.  I  let  go  my  grip  on  him,  and  fetched  him  a  blow  under 
his  ear  which  felled  him  like  an  ox.  At  this  Simpson  sailed 
in,  and  the  bos'n  wasn't  behind  hand,  while  Chips  and  the 
sailmaker  brought  up  the  rear. 

"  Simpson  maintained  his  reputation  in  splendid  style. 
He  would  take  a  man  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  the  slack 
of  bis  breeches  and  would  toss  him  out  on  deck  the  same 
as  if  he  had  been  a  feather  pillow.  After  a  half  dozen  of 
them  had  been  thrown  into  the  lee  scuppers  the  balance  of 
them  didn't  stand  upon  the  order  of  their  going  but  went 
out  on  deck  at  once.  Every  man  went  to  work  just  as  if 
nothing  had  happened,  and  I  must  say  that  a  better  set  of 
men  I  never  had  under  my  control  than  what  they  proved 
themselves  to  be  after  that  day. 

"  As  I  said,  we  had  the  prospect  of  a  quick  run  to  Cape 


56  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

Clear  until  the  fourteenth  day,  when  the  wind  moderated 
and  the  weather  showed  signs  of  a  change  taking  place.  The 
clouds  began  to  gather  in  the  eastward.  The  wind  had 
backed  around  to  east  nor'east  and  it  was  light  and  baffling. 
The  barometer  was  falling,  and  all  signs  betokened  the  ap- 
proach of  a  gale.  The  captain  ordered  that  all  the  light  sails 
be  taken  in  and  the  topsails  be  double  reefed.  We  kept  her 
along  under  double  reefed  topsails  and  courses  for  a  while. 
In  the  meantime  the  swell  was  coming  from  the  nor'east, 
which  presaged  a  blow  from  that  quarter.  I  had  the  first 
watch  on  deck  that  night  and  the  captain  told  me  to  call  him 
if  any  change  took  place.  About  four  bells  the  wind  from 
the  nor'east  began  to  freshen  and  pipe  up  pretty  lively.  I 
called  the  captain,  who  came  on  deck  at  once.  After  five 
minutes  he  ordered  the  mainsail  to  be  hauled  up  and  furled. 
The  jib  was  taken  in  and  stowed.  The  foresail  was  liauled 
up  and  furled.  The  spanker  was  taken  in  and  the  ship  was 
now  under  double  reefed  topsails,  foretopmast  staysail,  and 
fore  and  main  spencers.  Finally,  the  ship  was  put  under 
close  reefed  maintopsail,  foretopmast  staysail,  and  the 
storm  trysail  at  the  mizzen.  The  wind  kept  increasing, 
and  the  barometer  fell  to  29  inches — a  sure  sign  of  a  heavy 
blow.  A  drizzling  rain  began  to  fall,  and  finally  we  had  to 
take  everything  but  the  close  reefed  maintopsail,  mizzen 
storm  trysail,  and  foretopmast  staysail.  At  seven  bells  the 
gale  had  so  much  increased  that  we  had  to  take  in  every- 
thing and  heave  the  ship  to  under  close  reefed  maintopsail. 
"I  went  below  at  1  A.  M.  and  turned  into  my  berth,  hav- 
ing taken  off  my  peajacket  and  boots.  I  was  in  a  light  sleep 
when  I  was  startled  by  a  crashing  and  thundering  sound  that 
shook  the  ship  like  a  reed.  I  rushed  upon  deck  and  every- 
thing was  in  the  utmost  confusion.  The  ship  was  taking 
aboard  water,  over  the  lee  bulwarks,  by  the  ton,  while  the 
three  topgallantmasts — which  had  been  carried  away  clear 
down  to  the  caps — were  dangling,  held  by  the  rigging,  and 
pounding  the  ship,  on  the  lee  side,  at  every  plunge  she  made. 
The  captain  ordered  the  wreck  of  spars  to  be  cut  and  cleared 
away,  as  nothing  could  be  saved  from  them;  and  then  we 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  57 

proceeded  to  make  everything  safe.  But  we  had  not  seen  it 
all  yet,  for  the  ship  dipped  her  bow  into  a  heavy  sea  which 
filled  the  decks  with  water,  and  when  she  raised,  we  found 
that  the  jib-boom  and  the  flying  jib-boom  had  both  been  car- 
ried away,  and  Avere  pounding  the  ship  abreast  of  the  lee 
forerigging.  Then  all  hands  turned  to  and  made  every  ef- 
fort to  save  some  of  the  paraphernalia,  but  without  avail,  as 
the  seas  were  making  a  clean  breach  over  the  ship,  making 
it  impossible  to  work,  so  that  everything  had  to  be  cut  away 
and  clear  from  the  ship.  The  ship  now  looked  very  dilapi- 
dated. But  after  the  wreck  of  the  spars  and  rigging  were 
cleared  away  she  laid  close  to  the  wind  and  rode  the  waves 
with  dry  decks.  Well,  we  were  hove-to  for  five  successive 
days,  and  as  the  wind  and  current  had  taken  us  as  far  south 
as  40  degrees  of  latitude  we  were  nearly  as  far  south  as  the 
Azores  Islands. 

"On  the  sixth  day  after  the  gale  came  on  the  weather 
began  to  improve,  the  wind  moderated  and  all  hands  turned 
to  work  to  repair  damages  that  had  been  caused  by  the  gale. 
The  wind  veered  around  to  the  southward  and  we  shaped 
our  course  for  Saint  George's  Channel.  The  carpenter  was 
set  to  work  to  get  out  the  three  new  to'gallant  masts  and  a 
jib-boom.  We  had  rough  spars  enough,  also  had  some 
ah-eady  prepared  to  answer  for  to'gallant  yards.  Simpson, 
who  could  handle  a  drawing  knife  or  a  spoke  shave  as  deftly 
as  a  carpenter,  turned  in  to  help  Chips  while  I  took  charge 
of  the  refitting  of  the  rigging.  We  got  out  the  maintop- 
gallantmast  first,  sent  it  up  and  fitted  the  yards  and  sails. 
Then  followed  the  jib-boom  and  all  the  other  spars  in  rapid 
succession  until  by  the  time  we  entered  Saint  George's  Chan- 
nel every^ing  aloft  was  'shipshape  aud  Bristol  fashion.' 

'*  As  we  approached  the  Mersey  the  pilot  came  on  board. 
He  told  the  captain  that  the  consignees  of  the  cargo  had  be- 
come apprehe'nsive  that  the  ship  would  never  arrive  in  port, 
and  had  consequently  effected  additional  insurance  on  their 
consignments  at  very  high  rates.  Well,  after  all  our  dan- 
gers and  the  buffetings  the  ship  had  received,  we  arrived  in 
Albert  dock  in  Liverpool  after  a  passage  of  fifty-six  days. 


58  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

"Capt.  Nye  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  capabilities  of 
Simpson,  the  second  mate,  that  he  complimented  me  for 
having  such  good  judgment  in  selectipg  him,  and  made  him 
a  present  of  a  patent  lever  English  silver  watch  with  a  suit- 
able inscription  on  it  as  a  token  of  his  regard. 

"  Now  I'll  tell  you  a  plan  that  I  have  evoJved  in  my  mind, 
which,  if  you  will  agree  to  and  accept,  will  be  very  satis- 
factory to  me  in  the  present,  while  it  will  be  beneficial  to 
you  when  we  arrive  in  San  Francisco." 

"What  plan  is  that.  Captain  ?  " 

"You  listen  and  I'll  tell  you.  I  find  that  several  of  my 
crew  are  nothing  more  than  sloop  sailors.  Good  enough  to 
pull  and  haul  about  the  decks  but  not  good  for  anything 
when  it  comes  to  working  aloft.  When  they  get  above  the 
maintop  it  is  all  they  can  do  to  hold  on  with  both  hands, 
and  therefore  they  are  unable  to  do  the  necessary  work. 
This,  combined  with  the  additional  labor  which  the  leaking 
of  the  ship  has  imposed  on  all  hands,  is  becoming  hard  on 
the  whole  crew.  In  looking  over  the  list  of  consignees  I 
found  your  name  and  saw  that  the  amount  of  your  freight  is 
one  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars.  That  amount  you  will 
have  to  pay  when  we  arrive  in  San  Francisco  before  you  can 
get  the  order  for  your  goods.  Now,  as  I  have  said,  1  find 
that  another  man  to  take  hold  and  work  will  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  me,  and  I  know  that  you  are  not  as  contented  as 
you  would  be  if  you  had  something  to  do.  You  are  a  sailor 
and  I  think  if  you  will  take  hold  and  work  you  will  be  far 
more  contented.  My  plan  is  this:  as  your  cabin  passage  is 
paid  that  you  continue  in  the  cabin;  that  you  turn  to,  stand 
watch,  hand,  reef  and  steer  and  help  to  work  the  ship,  but 
do  no  other  work,  such  as  working  on  the  rigging  or  mend- 
ing sails.  Your  wages  shall  be  thirty  dollars  per  month 
from  this  time  until  we  arrive  in  San  Francisco.  This  is  a 
good  chance  for  you  and  you  had  better  agree  to  it,  and  by 
this  afternoon  you  can  come  into  the  lower  cabin  and  give 
me  your  answer." 

The  captain  then  went  aft  and  left  me  to  cogitate  over 
his  proposition.     I  knew  that  he  was  anxious  to  enlist  me  in 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans,  59 

his  service,  and  it  was  for  that  reason  that  he  seemed  to  un- 
bend himself  in  my  company.  I  thought  of  the  words  of 
Shakespeare :  * '  He  bends  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee, 
that  thrift  may  follow  fawjiing."  However  that  may  have 
been  I  felt  that  the  offer  was  an  advantageous  one  for  me, 
and  I  accordingly  went  to  the  captain  and  told  him  that  I 
was  willing  to  go  to  work.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "I'm  glad  of 
it.  You  needn't  sign  the  articles,  but  simply  report  to  Mr. 
Bryson,  in  whose  watch  I  place  you." 

I  went  into  the  cabin,  changed  my  clothes,  went  out  on 
deck  and  reported  to  the  second  mate,  whose  watch  it  was, 
that  I  was  ready  for  duty.  "  Well,  young  fellow,"  said  he, 
"the  old  man  (the  captain  is  always  called  the  old  man, 
though  he  be  a  boy)  has  told  me  that  he  has  shipped  you 
for  the  balance  of  the  voyage,  and  I'm  blamed  glad  of  it,  for 
three  of  the  men  in  my  watch  are  nothing  but  sloop  sailors 
and  when  I  send  'em  aloft  to  do  anything  it  seems  to  be  all 
they  can  do  is  to  hold  on  with  tooth  and  toe-nail  to  keep 
from  falling  overboard.  They  grab  the  shrouds  so  hard  that 
they  squeeze  the  tar  right  out  of  'em.  They  may  do  well 
enough  on  board  of  a  Grand  Bank  fisherman,  but  I'm  blamed 
if  they  are  of  much  use  here  when  they  get  above  the  bul- 
warks. As  the  old  man  has  put  you  in  my  watch  you  may 
begin  by  laying  aloft  and  loosing  the  fore  royal."  "Aye, 
aye,  sir,"  I  answered,  and  proceeded  to  obey  the  first  order 
that  I  had  received  on  board  the  ship  "  Samson." 

After  I  had  come  down  from  aloft  and  the  royal  had  been 
set,  the  second  mate  came  to  me  and  said,  "  Well,  I  think 
this  is  more  nateral  for  you  to  do,  for  it  is  what  you  was 
brought  up  to,  than  it  was  for  yon  to  stand  around  with 
them  Johnny  Crapaads  trying  to  learn  to  speak  their  jaw- 
breaking  lingo.  I  can  say  I've  been  to  sea  nigh  on  to  thirty 
years,  man  and  boy,  and  have  never  been  ia  auy  port  where 
I  didn't  get  along  with  plain  United  States  English.  If  my 
language  wasn't  understood  my  money  would  speak  for  me, 
and  I  could  get  all  the  grub  and  all  the  grog  that  I  wanted 
so  long  as  I  had  the  money  to  pay  for  it,  I  tell  you,  young 
feller,  there's  nothing  that  furiners  understand  quicker  than 
money. " 


60  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

In  my  next  watch  on  deck  I  took  my  first  trick  at  the 
wheel,  and  Mr.  Bryson  praised  me  for  being  a  good  helms- 
man. 

November  first,  lat.  28  17  N.,  long.  40  25  W.  The 
weather  was  now  very  pleasant  and  we  expected  to  soon  strike 
the  northeast  trade  winds.  On  this  day  we  hud  the  first 
view  of  a  flying  fish  seen  during  the  voyage.  A  flying  fish 
is  from  ten  to  fifteen  inches  in  length  and  about  three  inches 
around  the  thickest  part  of  the  body.  It  has  immense  dor- 
sal fins,  which  it  spreads  when  it  emerges  from  the  ocean, 
and  sustains  itself  in  the  air  for  a  minute  or  two  while  it 
skims  along  just  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  When  it 
emerges  from  the  water  it  shoots  out  with  great  force  at  an 
angle  of  twenty-five  degrees  and  the  momentum  carries  it 
for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  feet  or  more,  when  it  enters 
the  water  without  making  a  ripple.  The  flying  fish  does  not 
flv.  It  acquires  all  its  propelling  force  in  the  water,  and 
sustains  itself  in  the  air  by  its  dorsal  fins,  which  it  out- 
spreads but  does  not  move  them  at  all  while  out  of  the 
water.  When  the  power  acquired  in  the  water  is  exhausted 
it  has  to  re-enter  its  native  element.  It  skims  the  water 
but  does  not  fly. 

This  reminds  me  of  the  Cape  Cod  lad  who  went  on  a  sea 
voyage  of  more  than  two  years'  duration.  When  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  he  recounted  many  of  his  adventures  to 
his  mother:  How  he  had  been  on  a  sea  where  he  had  seen 
fishes  fly  in  the  air,  and  on  a  sea  that  was  red  in  color  and 
how  one  very  calm  dav  they  had  to  cast  anchor  to  keep  the 
ship  from  drifting.  When  the  breeze  sprung  up  they  hove 
up  the  anchor  and  to  their  surprise  they  found  a  chariot 
wheel  hanging  to  one  of  the  flukes  of  the  anchor.  The  good 
lady  replied:  "  Zenas,  my  son,  I  believe  the  story  about  the 
chariot  wheel  hanging  to  one  of  the  flukes  of  the  anchor, 
because  the  Bible  tells  us  how  Pharaoh's  hosts  pursued  the 
children  of  Israel  with  horses  and  chariots  and  were  all  en- 
gulfed in  the  Red  Sea.  But  when  you  tell  me  that  you  have 
seen  fishes  fljing  I  can't  believe  it." 

As  flying  fish  never  bite  at  a  baited  hook  we  tried  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  61 

stratagem  of  lasliiug  a  tarpaulin  about  twelve  feet  square  to 
the  lee  main  shrouds,  after  dark,  and  hanging  a  lighted  lan- 
tern on  the  inboard  side  of  it.  The  light  attracted  the  fish 
as  they  emerged  from  the  water  on  the  Avindward  side  and 
shot  directly  for  the  light,  where  they  encountered  the  can- 
vas and  dropped  dovi^n  on  deck,  from  whence  they  were 
picked  up  by  the  sailors,  who  got  the  cook  to  fry  them  the 
next  morning,  in  return  for  which  favor  the  sailors  split 
stove  wood  for  him. 

November  8th.  We  were  now  well  in  the  tropics  and  the 
northeast  trades  were  blowing  a  good  six-knot  breeze.  Lat. 
23  15  N.,  long.  31  05  W.  We  were  now  steering  south- 
sou'west  to  pass  Cape  Saint  Roque,  as  the  captain  found 
that  the  leak  had  somewhat  increased  and  that  he  would 
have  to  put  into  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

I  could  see  that  the  discipline  on  the  ship  was  very  lax. 
The  captain  passed  his  time  mostly  in  the  lower  cabin  court- 
ing the  rosy  god,  and  for  many  nights  at  a  time  would  not 
put  his  head  above  the  cabin  companion-way.  Even  during 
the  day  he  would  seldom  pay  that  attention  to  the  sailing  of 
the  ship  that  I  had  observed  other  captains  do  with  whom  I 
had  sailed.  It  is  an  old  saying  that,  "  A  careless  captain 
makes  careless  mates." 

As  I  have  said  before,  Mr.  Cranston,  the  first  mate, 
looked  more  like  a  lawyer's  clerk  than  he  did  like  a  seaman. 
When  he  would  have  the  first  watch  on  deck,  which  is  from 
8  p.  M.  to  12  midnight,  he  would  pass  his  time  chatting  and 
giggling  with  the  lady  passengers,  to  the  serious  neglect  of 
his  duties,  allowing  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  become  so  care- 
less as  to  keep  the  ship  yawing  about  two  or  three  points 
from  her  course,  thereby  losing  much  distance,  and  when 
the  ship  was  close  hauled  the  careless  man  at  the  wheel 
would  bring  her  up  till  all  the  sails  would  be  shivering  and 
then  pay  her  off  four  or  five  points.  This  makes  a  great  dif- 
ference in  the  sailing  of  a  ship,  and  of  course  it  prolongs  the 
voyage.  He  was  effeminate  and  simpering.  He  exactly 
filled  the  description  given  by  Shakespeare  as  one  "  that 
capers  nimbly  in  the  lady's  chamber  to  the  lascivious  pleas- 


62  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

ing  of  a  lute."  He  told  me  that  lie  had  been  educated  at 
Wilbraham  Academy,  near  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  it  was 
said  of  him  that  he  was  a  very  expert  navigator.  A  friend 
of  his,  a  passenger  on  board,  said  that  Cranston  could  navi- 
gate a  ship  from  the  Atlantic  through  the  Gnt  of  Canso  into 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  without  seeing  the  land,  providing 
he  could  get  an  observation  of  sun  or  moon.  But  in  sea- 
manship he  was  wofully  deficient  and  really  indifferent. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  second  mate,  Mr.  Bryson,  Avas  a 
thorough  seaman,  could  cut  a  gang  of  standing  rigging  as 
skillfully  as  any  master  rigger  that  ever  took  a  measurement, 
but  in  navigation  he  was  a  tyro.  Ho  could  rig  a  ship  and 
he  could  sail  her,  but  in  navigating  her  he  couldn't  handle 
the  "hog  yoke,"  as  the  sailors  call  the  quadrant,  with  any 
degree  of  skill.  He  could  barely  work  out  the  latitude. 
The  mates  reminded  me  of  the  nursery  rhyme: 

"  There  was  Jack  Sprat,  who  ate  no  fat, 
His  wife,  she  ate  no  lean ,  sir ; 
Between  the  two,  withoiit  ado, 

They  licked  the  platter  clean,  sir." 

What  with  the  splendid  capacity  of  the  first  mate  as  a 
navigator  and  the  thorough  knowledge  of  the  working  of  a 
ship  by  the  second  mate,  if  the  captain  had  been  less  bibu- 
lous and  more  energetic,  the  ship  would  have  been  much 
better  managed,  but  as  things  were  going  on  board  in  so 
loose  and  careless  manner  it  was  evident  to  any  observing 
person  that  we  were  destined  to  make  a  long,  tedious  voyage. 
I  will  here  illustrate  what  a  good,  attentive  captain  can  do 
on  board  of  a  ship  under  way. 

The  ship  "  Flying  Cloud,"  built  in  East  Boston  by  Don- 
ald McKay,  1851,  sailed  from  New  York  in  1851,  commanded 
by  Capt.  Cress}'.  She  made  the  passage  to  San  Francisco 
in  eighty-nine  days  and  twenty  hours,  a  distance  of  eighteen 
thousand  miles,  around  Cape  Horn,  besides  the  devious  dis- 
tance sailed  when  the  wind  was  adverse:  and  during  all  this 
voyage  it  was  said  that  she  never  parted  a  ropeyarn.  When 
she  arrived  in  San  Francisco  the  mercantile  community  was 
astonished,  as  nothing  in  the  sailing  line  had  ever  before 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  63 

approached  such  a  feat.  It  was  told  by  members  of  the 
ship's  crew  that  from  the  day  that  the  ship  s  died  from  New 
York  until  she  was  anchored  in  San  Francisco,  that  Capt. 
Cressy  had  not  allowed  a  single  watch  of  four  hours  to  pass 
without  coming  on  deck  at  least  once  during  the  watch.  The 
mate  in  charge  of  the  watch  was  especially  directed  to  con 
the  helm,  to  study  every  variation  of  the  wind  and  to  trim 
the  sails  accordingly,  and  from  such  close  application  came 
such  very  brilliant  results. 

In  this  port  Capt.  Cressy  and  his  ship  became  the  cyno- 
sure of  all  eyes.  A  big  restaurant  which  was  about  to  be 
opened  was  named  the  "Flying  Cloud."  A  clothing  store 
just  opened,  was  called  the  "  Flying  Cloud  "  clothing  store; 
and  to  cap  the  climax  an  enthusiastic  old  sailor,  who  stood 
on  the  corner  of  Sansome  and  Halleck  streets,  waiting  for 
odd  jobs  of  hauling,  caused  his  hand-cart  to  be  painted  a 
bright  green,  and  a  legend  painted  on  the  tailboard  bearing 
these  words:     "  Flying  Cloud  looking  for  a  job." 

On  the  second  voyage  of  the  "Flying  Cloud"  she  beat 
her  record  by  one  hour,  making  the  voyage  in  eighty-nine 
days  and  nineteen  hours.  To  Capt.  Cressy  and  his  ship 
belongs  the  honor  of  the  greatest  performance  in  sailing 
that  is  known  in  the  maritime  world.  When  I  contrast  the 
achievement  of  this  ship  with  the  lax  and  slovenly  manage- 
ment of  the  "Samson,"  which  vessel  took  seventy -five  days 
to  reach  Rio  de  Janeiro,  under  very  favorable  conditions,  I 
feel  convinced  that  to  make  a  quick  passage,  very  much  de- 
pends upon  the  close  application  of  the  captain  to  the  proper 
sailing  of  his  ship. 

November  15th.  We  are  now  having  light  winds,  lat.  18 
12  N.,  long.  30  22  W.,  weather  warm.  We  were  daily  ap- 
proached by  schools  of  porpoises,  and  they  would  often 
sport  around  the  ship  and  come  right  under  her  bows.  We 
had  a  sailor  that  had  once  been  on  a  whaling  vogage  in  a 
schooner  from  Provincetown,  Cape  Cod,  and  he  claimed  to 
be  a  good  harpooner.  The  chief  mate  caused  a  harpoon  to 
be  rigged,  and  used  a  coil  of  rattling  stuff  for  a  line;  it  was 
placed  in  the  waist,  on  the  lee  side,  and  the  end  passed  out- 


64  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

side  the  forerigging  to  the  bow,  and  lashed  to  the  harpoon. 
When  everything  was  ready  the  whaleman,  whose  name  was 
Amaziah  Nickerson,  took  the  harpoon,  went  out  to  the  mar- 
tingale and  lashed  himself  to  it,  so  as  to  have  the  free  use 
of  his  hands,  and  stand  ready  for  a  chance  to  strike  a  por- 
poise. The  chance  soon  occurred,  for  a  porpoise  came  with- 
in range  and  Amaziah  threw  the  harpoon  with  such  force  and 
precision  that  it  passed  clear  through  the  body  of  the  mon- 
ster. As  soon  as  the  porpoise  was  struck  the  mate  ordered 
the  helm  to  be  put  hard  down  and  eased  up  the  head  sheets 
and  the  ship  came  up  into  the  wind,  which  stopped  her  head- 
way. In  the  meantime  the  porpoise  was  struggling  fiercely, 
but  without  avail.  The  struggle  soon  ceased,  and  the  por- 
poise was  hauled  alongside.  Amaziah  was  placed  in  the 
bight  of  a  rope  and  lowered  over  the  side;  he  then  placed  a 
running  bowline  over  the  flukes  of  the  monster  and  it  was 
hoisted  on  board  with  a  watch  tackle.  When  it  was  stretched 
on  deck  all  the  passengers  gathered  around,  and  all  of  them 
expressed  unbounded  wonder  at  the  sight  of  the  denizen  of 
the  mighty  deep.  Its  weight  was  reckoned  to  be  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  Sailors  often  call  them  sea  hogs. 
The  monster  was  immediately  opened  and  its  liver  taken  out. 
It  was  then  9:30  A.  m.  The  captain  ordered  the  cook  to 
prepare  the  liver  for  a  special  luncheon  for  the  ladies  and 
have  it  ready  by  eleven  o'clock.  The  cook  cut  the  liver  into 
slices  and  washed  it  in  salt  and  water,  after  which  he  wiped 
it  dry,  dredged  it  with  dry  flour  and  fried  it  with  slices  of 
bacon.  The  odor  of  the  frying  liver  and  bacon  that  issued 
from  the  galley  carried  the  memory  of  the  young  passengers 
from  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania  back  to  their  father's  farm 
in  hog  killing  time,  and  excited  their  gustatory  organs  to 
such  a  degree  that  it  caused  the  saliva  to  exude  from  their 
mouths  and  trickle  down  their  chins  in  tiny  rivulets.  The 
eight  ladies  on  board  enjoyed  the  novel  dish  of  fried  por- 
poise liver  and  bacon,  and  declared  that  it  was  the  most 
delicious  morsel  that  they  had  eaten  in  many  a  day.  Then 
the  body  of  the  porpoise  was  stripped  of  the  blubber,  which 
was  tried  out  for  oil  for  the  forecastle  lamps,  and  the  meat 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  65 

was  cut  into  strips,  parboiled  in  salt  and  water  and  wiped 
dry.  After  this  it  was  mixed  with  a  small  proportion  of  salt 
pork  and  chopped  fine.  It  was  then  seasoned  with  dried 
sage  and  summer  savory,  pepper  and  salt,  and  rolled  into 
small  balls,  covered  with  dry  flour,  and  then  fried  in  a  pan 
of  hot  fat,  and  served  piping  hot.  It  must  be  said  that  to 
us  it  tasted  as  palatable  as  a  dish  of  Fulton  market  sausage 
meat  ever  tasted  to  us  when  in  New  York.  We  all  liked  it 
so  well  that  when  the  supply — which  lasted  two  days — was 
exhausted  we,  like  Oliver  Twist,  asked  for  more  of  the  same 
kind.  The  French  passengers  were  so  well  pleased  that  one 
of  them  sent  a  bottle  of  brandy,  by  the  cabin  boy,  to  Ama- 
ziah  as  a  reward  for  his  prowess.  After  this  feast  every- 
thing moved  along  in  the  old  groove. 

November  19th,  lat.  14  24  N.,  long.  31  16  W.  We  ex- 
pected to  reach  the  equator  in  a  few  days  and  the  sailors  be- 
gan to  talk  about  having  a  visit  from  Neptune.  After  dis- 
cussing the  subject  they  resolved  to  a.sk  permission  from  the 
captain  to  enact  the  part,  and  solicited  Mr.  Bryson,  the  sec- 
ond mate,  to  act  as  their  advocate.  Mr.  Bryson  accordingly 
approached  the  captain  upon  the  subject,  and  strengthened 
his  argument  by  saying  that  in  nearly  all  the  ships  in  which 
he  had  crossed  the  line  the  Neptune  drama  was  allowed  to  be 
enacted,  and  never  had  resulted  in  anything  unpleasant. 
The  captain  said  he  was  willing  if  the  weather  should  per- 
mit, but  there  should  be  no  tar  used  in  the  lather,  nor  should 
he  allow  a  rusty  iron  hoop  for  a  razor — but  a  wooden  razor 
instead.  All  these  preliminaries  being  arranged,  the  sailors 
commenced  at  once  to  prepare  for  the  grand  occasion.  Mr. 
Bryson  furnished  an  old  topgallant  studdingsail  from  which 
they  made  three  cloaks  and  trimmed  them  with  strands  of 
Manila  ropeyarns,  and  painted  them  green,  to  resemble  sea 
weed.  They  also  made  three  pairs  of  canvas  sandals  and 
painted  them  green  also.  They  made  three  pairs  of  leggings 
of  red  flannel,  which  were  to  be  tied  around  their  ankles. 
A  Russian  fur  cap  was  fitted  with  a  band  of  sheet  brass,  and 
two  bands,  crossing  each  other,  over  the  top  of  the  cap,  al- 
together resembling  a  coronet,  which   was  to  be  worn  by 


66  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

Neptune.  A  sailor  named  Stan  wood,  possessing  a  basso 
profundo  voice,  was  to  enact  the  part  of  the  sea  king.  His 
two  satellites  were  to  have  wigs  made  of  Manila  strands. 
Their  faces  were  to  be  daubed  with  yellow  ochre. 

November  the  twenty-first  proved  a  propitious  day  for 
the  enactment  of  the  great  drama,  it  being  bright  and 
pleasant,  with  a  three-knot  breeze.  The  word  was  passed 
around  the  ship  during  the  forenoon  that  Neptune  might 
board  the  ship  during  the  clay.  One  o'clock  was  the  time 
at  which  the  passengers  would  be  in  the  cabin  taking  their 
dinner.  Mr.  Bryson  had  kindly  consented  to  act  as  master 
of  ceremonies.  By  observation  at  12  meridian  we  were  in 
lat.  8  23  N.,  long.  31  05  W.  The  wind  was  abaft  the  beam; 
the  ship  was  sliding  along  about  four  knots;  the  second 
mate  was  in  charge  of  the  deck,  as  the  chief  mate  was  in  the 
cabin  taking  his  dinner. 

At  1 :15  P.  M.  a  stentorian  voice  called  out,  "  Ship  ahoy ! " 
"Hello!"  answered  the  second  mate  through  the  speaking 
trumpet,  which  had  been  purposely  placed  at  hand. 
"What  ship  is  that?"  "The  'Samson,'  from  Phila- 
delphia." "Heave  back  your  maintopsail,  as  Neptune  is 
coming  aboard."  "Aye,  aye,  sir."  Then  the  chief  mate, 
who  had  come  on  deck,  ordered  the  helm  to  be  put  hard 
down,  the  mainsail  to  be  hauled  up,  and  the  maintopsail  to 
be  hove  aback. 

The  passengers,  who  had  heard  the  ship  hailed,  appar- 
ently from  a  distance,  hurried  out  of  the  cabin  and  saw  a 
sight  that  astonished  them  and  caused  some  of  them  to 
blanch  with  fright.  There  they  saw  before  them  Neptune, 
dressed  in  his  royal  robes  of  green  cloak  and  red  breeches, 
with  crown  on  his  head  and  scepter  or  trident  in  his  hand^ 
attended  by  his  two  satellites,  one  on  each  side;  while  one 
carried  an  immense  steel-colored  (made  of  wo(jd)  razor,  the 
other  one  carried  a  bucket  and  a  huge  brush  made  of  oakum 
lashed  to  a  stick  for  a  handle.  The  attendants  had  green 
cloaks  like  their  master  and  a  head  covering  of  what  ap- 
peared to  be  seaweed.  They  marched  with  measured  step 
as  far  aft  as  the  mainmast,  where  they  were  met  by  the  chief 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


67 


68  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

mate,  who  raised  his  cap  to  Neptune,  the  monarch  of  the 
ocean.  Then  spoke  Neptune,  "I  know  that  you  have  a 
number  of  novices  on  board,  who  must  be  inducted  into  the 
mysteries  of  my  dominion.  Bring  a  list  of  their  names,  and 
state  the  occupation  of  each."  "Aye,  aye,  sir,"  answered 
the  mate. 

The  list  had,  of  course,  been  previously  prepared,  and  it 
was  handed  to  Mr.  Bryson,  master  of  ceremonies.  Neptune 
ordered  him  to  read  the  list  and  call  out  the  names,  which 
he  did  in  the  following  order : 

Deidrich  Cluffwater,  farmer;  . 

Hans  Van  Bokkelin,  farmer; 

Dick  Grimes,  cabin  boy; 

Benj.  F.  Jackson,  compositor; 

Edward  Brainard,  student; 

John  Edgar,  pressman; 

Mons.  Dubardie,  embassador; 

Mons.  Bayard,  soldier; 

Mons.  Bushey,  Perruquier  to  his  majesty  Louis  Phillip; 

Mons.  Guizot,  gentleman. 

The  above  embraced  the  list  of  those  persons  that  were 
to  be  inducted  into  the  family  of  Neptune,  and  to  be  known 
thereafter  as  the  "  Sons  of  Neptune." 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  the  shaving  of  the  nov- 
ices. The  half  of  a  large  water  cask  was  placed  near  the 
mainmast  and  was  filled  with  salt  water.  Across  the  cask 
was  placed  a  capstan-bar  to  serve  as  a  seat  for  the  candi- 
date. A  bucket  was  used  in  which  the  lather  of  soap  and 
grease  had  been  already  prepared.  One  of  the  attendants 
used  the  mop,  while  the  other  one  wielded  the  wooden  razor, 
which  was  painted  steel  color.  Neptune  stood  majestically 
with  cloak  and  crown,  holding  his  trident  in  his  right  hand. 
The  master  of  ceremonies  led  forward  the  person  whose 
name  was  first  on  the  list,  Deidrich  Cluffwater.  A  more  dis- 
consolate looking  young  fellow  I  never  looked  upon  before. 
They  seated  him  on  the  edge  of  the  big  half  cask,  with  a 
capstan-bar  for  a  seat.  One  of  Neptune's  attendants  held 
him  to  the  seat  while  the  other  one  plied  the  brush  or  mop 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  69 

with  no  gentle  hand.  Whenever  the  victim  opened  his 
mouth  to  breathe  the  mop  was  thrust  into  it,  which  caused 
him  to  splutter  and  spit.  When  the  lather  had  been  ap- 
plied, the  attendant  laid  the  mop  down  and  held  the  victim 
while  the  barber  wielded  the  razor  with  a  great  deal  of  vigor 
and  some  roughness.  After  the  shaving  was  completed  the 
two  operators  held  the  victim  by  the  shoulders  and  soused 
him  backwards  into  the  cask  of  water,  and  then  raised  him 
up  half  smothered.  Then  they  wiped  him  off  with  a  canvas 
lowel,  which  was  as  painful  as  the  shave. 

Now  came  the  time  for  Neptune  to  speak.  He  told  the 
novice  to  stand  up,  which  he  had  to  do  as  the  two  satellites 
were  holding  him.  His  majesty  propounded  the  following 
questions: 

Ques.  Do  you  solemnly  swear  that  you  will  never  eat 
brown  bread  when  you  can  get  white  ?     Ans.     I  swear. 

Ques.  Do  you  solemnly  swear  that  you  will  never  kiss 
the  maid  when  you  can  kiss  the  mistress?     Ans.     I  swear. 

Ques.  Do  you  solemnly  swear  that  you  will  not  drink 
water  when  you  can  get  wine  ?     Ans.     I  swear. 

"  Very  well,"  said  his  Majesty,  at  the  same  time  laying 
his  scepter  gently  across  the  shoulders  of  the  candidate;  "  I 
pronounce  you  a  true  Son  of  Neptune  by  adoption,  and 
hereby  invest  you  with  all  the  privileges  appertaining  to  the 
sons  of  the  King  of  the  Sea." 

Then  the  master  of  ceremonies  escorted  him  aft,  saying 
at  the  same  time,  "  Old  Neptune  has  let  you  into  his  family 
easier  than  he  did  me.  When  I  first  crossed  the  line,  years 
ago,  he  came  on  board  our  ship,  and  put  me  and  three 
other  young  fellers  through  the  exercises,  and  done  it  with- 
out gloves;  you  bet  he  did.  He  had  his  barbers  to  make  a 
lather  of  soap,  slush  out  of  the  galley  coppers,  and  tar,  which 
was  rubbed  all  over  my  face;  then  they  scraped  me  with  a 
razor  made  of  hoop  iron.  After  they  got  through  with  me, 
my  face  was  as  raw  as  a  piece  of  beef." 

Cluffwater  was  glad  to  be  liberated,  and  soon  appeared 
on  deck  in  clean  clothes,  to  see  his  friend  Van  Bokkelin  put 
through  the  same  process. 


70  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

The  ladies  being  aware  that  the  motto  on  the  escutcheon 
of  Neptune  was:  "  Ladies  admitted  free,"  and  feeling  the 
security  of  immunity,  enjoyed  the  novel  performance,  and 
laughed  until  the  tears  coursed  down  their  cheeks. 

The  next  to  be  operated  upon  was  Van  Bokkelin.  He 
was  escorted  by  the  master  of  ceremonies  and  was  subjected 
to  the  same  process  as  Cluffwater  had  been.  After  this  came 
Dick  Grimes,  for  whom  I  felt  a  sort  of  pity,  because  sailors 
charge  cabin  boys  with  being  tale  bearers,  carrying  tales 
from  the  forecastle  to  the  captain  in  the  cabin.  The  master 
of  ceremonies  told  him  to  come  with  him,  but  Dick,  instead, 
began  to  run  towards  the  cabin;  then  Mr.  Bryson  called  two 
of  the  sailors  aft  and  ordered  them  to  take  the  boy  by  the 
nape  of  the  neck  and  the  slack  of  his  breeches  and  convoy 
him  before  Neptune,  which  the  sailors  at  once  proceeded  to 
do,  con  amore',  while  Dick  howled  and  kicked  vigorously, 
but  without  avail,  as  he  was  placed  on  the  shaving  stool  and 
taken  charge  of  by  the  two  satellites.  Just  then,  from  an 
unexpected  quarter,  arose  a  friend  and  advocate  for  Dick. 
This  was  sweet  little  Blanche,  the  four-year  old  daughter 
of  the  captain.  She  stood  on  the  roof  of  the  cabin,  and 
with  flashing  eyes  called  out:  "Go  away!  you  bad  mans, 
let  poor  Dick  alone!  I'll  tell  my  papa  on  you,  and  he'll  give 
you  a  hard  whipping."  But  Neptune's  attendants  were  ob- 
durate, and  proceeded  to  lather  and  shave  Dick  in  a  manner 
that  proved  that  they  meant  to  make  the  most  of  their  op- 
portunity. "Dick,  don't  cry,"  said  Blanche;  "stop!  you 
bad  mans."  After  the  barbers  had  concluded  their  labors 
they  placed  the  boy  before  Neptune,  who  made  him  take  the 
usual  oath  with  the  following  addenda:  "  Do  you  solemnly 
swear  that  you'll  never  more  carry  tales  from  the  forecastle 
to  the  cabin?"  "I  swear."  "Go,  now,  you  imp  of  mis- 
chief." 

After  the  three  first  had  been  duly  shaved,  the  chief 
mate  came  to  Mr.  Bryson  and  held  a  short  conference,  the 
result  of  which  was  that  Mr.  Bryson  informed  Neptune  that 
the  balance  of  the  novices  desired  to  obtain  exemption  from 
the  ordeal  undergone  by  the  others,  by  laying  gifts  at  his 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  71 

feet.  His  Majesty  acquiesced  in  the  plan,  thereby  showing 
that  royalty  is  never  known  to  refuse  a  good  thing  when  it 
is  offered  in  a  proper  spirit.  The  first  one  to  come  forward 
with  his  offering  was  Benj.  F.  Jackson,  who  brought  a  bound 
volume  of  the  "Philadelphia  Ledger,"  that  had  been  pre- 
sent(  d  to  him  in  that  oflSce  when  he  withdrew  to  go  to  Cali- 
fornia. The  next  was  John  Edgar,  the  pressman,  who  pre- 
sented a  fine  copy  of  Burns'  Poems,  presented  to  him  in  the 
printing  house  where  he  had  served  his  apprenticeship.  The 
four  Frenchmen  brought  each  a  bottle  of  old  cognac  brandy 
and  placed  them  at  the  feet  of  his  Majesty.  Edward  Brain- 
ard,  student,  was  exempted  by  reason  of  his  misfortunes. 
After  this  was  completed,  which  took  about  one  hour,  Mr. 
Bryson  requested  all  the  passengers  to  withdraw  into  the 
cabin.  After  the  deck  was  cleared,  Neptune  and  his  attend- 
ants at  once  dove  down  into  the  forecastle;  the  ship  was 
filled  away  on  her  course  and  everything  looked  as  natural 
as  before  Neptune  had  appeared.  I  must  say  that  Capt. 
Blanchard  had  behaved  handsomely,  for  during  the  whole 
ceremony  he  never  appeared  on  deck  once,  thereby  giving 
Neptune  and  his  attendants  a  chance  to  have  full  play. 
An  hour  after  this,  Stanwood  and  his  two  aids,  having 
divested  themselves  of  their  fantastic  rig,  came  on  deck  to 
resume  their  duties,  and  really,  any  one  that  didn't  know 
about  it  would  never  suspect  that  Neptune  and  Stanwood 
were  one  and  the  same  person. 

During  the  afternoon  I  noticed  that  the  two  cooks  ap- 
peared to  be  extra  busy.  The  steward  told  me  that  Stan- 
wood had  given  him  one  of  the  four  bottles  of  cognac,  there- 
fore he  was  going  to  reciprocate  by  giving  the  sailors  a  treat 
of  mince  turnovers  for  their  supper.  Mince  turnovers,  on 
board  of  a  ship,  are  made  of  salt  beef,  chopped  fine  and 
mixed  with  three  times  the  quantity  of  boiled  dried  apples, 
a  little  dried  orange  peel,  allspice,  and  molasses  to  taste, 
and  a  taste  of  vinegar.  Dough  cut  into  small  sections  after 
it  is  rolled  thin.  Put  one  spoonful  of  the  mince  in  each 
section,  bring  the  edges  together,  put  each  one  in  a  frying 
pan,  filled  with  hot  fat,  and  fry  them  brown.     When  one 


72  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

side  is  fried  turn  the  pie  over  —  hence  the  name,  "fried 
turnovers."  In  the  absence  of  luxuries  on  board  of  a  ship 
such  simple  dishes  are  a  great  boon  to  the  sailor.  I  saw 
one  of  the  sailors  receive  from  the  cook  a  big  panful  of 
turnovers,  which  he  carried  forward  for  their  supper.  It 
was  our  first  watch  on  deck  that  night  and  I  saw  the 
steward  and  the  two  cooks  hob-nobbing  together  and  dis- 
cussing the  episode  of  Neptune's  visit.  The  head  cook, 
who  was  an  American-African,  said  that  the  affair  of  that 
day  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  and  beautifulest  that  he 
ever  seed.  The  steward,  who  was  an  Englishman,  said 
that  it  was  too  tame  and  insipid  altogether.  Said  he:  "It 
takes  an  English  crew  on  an  English  ship  to  give  force 
and  character  to  Neptune's  visit,  where  real  tar  is  used, 
and  real  hoop  iron  is  used  for  a  razor.  You  may  brag  all 
you  like  about  your  Brother  Jonathan  but  it  takes  John 
Bull  to  do  things  in  ship-shape  and  Bristol  fashion,  in  every- 
thing that  he  undertakes."  The  steward  was  a  true  type  of 
the  all  sufficient  supercilious  British  sailor. 

We  were  now  in  the  torrid  zone  with  wind  light  and  very 
hot  weather.  At  noon  time  the  heat  was  so  intense  that  the 
pitch  oozed  out  of  the  deck  seams. 

On  November  twenty-second  the  steward  informed  the 
mate  that  the  fresh  water  was  reduced  down  to  six  casks 
out  of  fifty  which  we  had  on  deck  when  we  left  Philadelphia. 
The  fact  was  that  the  passengers  had  used  the  fresh  water 
in  a  most  prodigal  manner  as  if  there  was  a  never-failing 
spring  to  drawn  from.  The  sailors  seeing  how  freely  the 
passengers  were  helping  themselves— and  washing  their 
clothes — were  not  slow  in  following  their  example;  the  con- 
sequence being  that  we  found  ourselves  in  the  tropics,  with 
the  air  as  hot  as  an  oven  when  the  wind  was  moderate,  and 
we  had  only  six  full  casks  of  water  on  deck.  It  is  true, 
there  were  two  iron  tanks  between  decks  containing  five  hun- 
dred gallons  each,  but  this  was  a  reserve  supply  in  case  the 
deck  should  be  swept  by  a  sea.  The  captain  was  informed 
of  the  condition  of  affairs,  which  caused  him  to  storm  and 
roar  at  the  mates  because  of  their  neglect,  and  scolded  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  73 

steward  for  his  extravagauue.  He  ordered  the  second  mate 
to  take  charge  of  the  water  and  have  each  day  pumped  out 
of  the  cask  sufficient  to  supply  each  man  with  two  quarts  of 
water  per  day — one  quart  to  drink,  one  quart  for  coffee  and 
tea.  This  severe  measure  need  not  have  been  adopted  if 
the  captain  had  exercised  that  supervision  and  discipline 
that  causes  everything  to  go  on  smoothly  on  board  of  a 
ship. 

"W'ith  cabin  passengers  the  mate  cannot  or  does  not  as- 
sert that  superiority  that  is  essential  in  the  maintenance  of 
discipline.  From  the  day  on  which  we  passed  Cape  Hen- 
lopen,  Mr.  Cranston,  the  first  mate,  seemed  oblivious  to 
everything  but  standing  his  watch,  and  navigating  the  ship, 
and  paying  devout  attention  to  the  lady  passengers,  while 
Mr.  Bryson,  the  second  mate,  would  take  a  sailor  to  task 
sooner  about  the  waste  of  a  fathom  of  spunyarn  than  he 
would  if  he  saw  him  take  a  backet  of  fresh  water  wherewith 
to  wash  his  clothes.  "  Bat,"  you  ask,  "  where  was  the  cap- 
tain all  this  time  ?  "  He  was  in  the  cabin  worshiping  at  the 
shrine  of  the  rosy  god  Bacchus.  This  was  a  plain  illustra- 
tion of  the  old  adage,  which  says :  ' '  When  the  cat  is  away 
the  mice  will  play." 

The  captain  now  determined  to  put  into  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
as  the  ship  leaked  copiously  and  we  were  short  of  fresh 
water,  and  therefore  not  in  a  condition  to  venture  around 
Cape  Horn!  It  was  now  November  26th.  Our  position  at 
12  meridian  was  lat.  1  15  south,  long.  29  30  west;  wind  E. 
N.  E.  The  ship  was  brought  a  point  to  the  southward  in 
order  that  we  might  weather  Cape  Saint  Roque,  in  lat.  5  28 
S.,  long.  35  17  W.  Every  one  on  board  the  ship  now  began 
to  discnss  the  captain's  change  of  plan  of  the  voyage.  Some 
of  them  deplored  the  necessity  of  putting  into  Rio,  fearing 
that  the  gold  in  California  would  be  all  dug  up  before  we 
would  arrive  there.  Others  of  the  passengers  were  de- 
lighted with  the  prospect  of  seeing  a  new  country  and  once 
more  placing  their  feet  on  dry  laud.  The  wind  was  now 
freshening  and  the  ship  moved  through  the  water  at  a  race- 
horse speed. 


74 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


November  27th  at  2  p.  m.  we  sighted  Cape  Saint  Eoque, 
bearing  south-southwest,  distant  about  twenty  miles.  The 
sight  of  land  produced  a  very  animating  effect  upon  all  the 
passengers.  The  ladies  ranged  themselves  on  the  quarter- 
deck and  each  one  in  turn  took  a  view  of  the  distant  land 
through  the  spy-glass,  while  the  young  men  laughed  and 
skipped  about  the  deck  as  if  they  had  become  boys  again. 
The  Frenchmen  opened  a  few  extra  bottles  of  claret  for 
themselves  and  became  quite  loquacious.  The  interdiction 
on  the  free  use  of  fresh  water  for  drinking  purposes  was  re- 
moved, and  an  air  of  cheerfulness  pervaded  the  whole  com- 
pany on  the  ship. 

Thanksgiving  Day  was  now  near,  a  day  hallowed  by  the 
Pilgrims  who  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock  in  1620,  when — 

The  breaking  waves  dashed  high 
On  a  stern  and  rock-bound  coast, 

And  the  woods  against  the  stormy 
sky 
Their  giant  branches  tossed. 


The  heavy  night  hung  dark 
The  hills  and  water  o'er, 

When  a  band  of  jjilgrims  moored 
their  bark 
On  the  wild  New  England  shore. 

Thanksgiving  Day  has  ever  been  a  day  of  special  devo- 
tion and  of  feasting  in  all  New  England  since  that  day  in 
November  when  Providence  had  blessed  them  with  an  abun- 
dant harvest,  after  having  suffered  drought  and  hunger  for 
two  years  after  their  first  landing.  The  fore  part  of  the  day 
is  devoted  to  divine  worship,  after  which  is  inaugurated  the 
grand  feast  of  the  year.  From  this  beginning  has  Thanks- 
giving Day  been  perpetuated,  and  is  held  precious  by  every 
son  of  New  England,  wherever  his  lot  may  be  cast.  The 
family  on  that  day,  though  widely  separated,  gather  under 
the  parental  roof  and  pass  the  day  in  family  communion. 
Nor  is  the  stranger  neglected  on  that  day,  but  is  supplied 
with  ample  quantity  of  food,  not  omitting  a  generous  piece 
of  New  England  mince  pie. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  75 

An  opulent  merchant  named  Jonathan  Bourne,  of  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  some  years  ago  sent  a  liberal  sum  of  money 
to  the  Selectmen  of  Sandwich,  Mass.,  with  a  request  that 
they  buy  an  ample  supply  of  turkey  and  also  a  suflficient 
quantity  of  cider  to  supply  one  bottle  each  to  every  inmate 
of  the  town  farm  on  Thanksgiving  Day.  In  concluding  his 
letter  he  said:  "It  is  my  desire  that  the  poor  and  wretched 
of  my  native  town  shall  forget  their  misery  on  Thanksgiving 
Day."  This  noble  act  of  Mr.  Bourne  will  be  remembered 
when  his  wealth  and  his  business  enterprise  will  have  been 
forgotten. 

Capt.  Blanchard  was  from  Maine  and  Mr.  Cranston  was 
from  Massachusetts,  yet  neither  one  of  them  mentioned  a 
word  about  the  approaching  Thanksgiving  Day.  The 
steward  was  an  Englishman,  and  the  two  darkey  cooks  were 
from  Maryland,  therefore  they  wouldn't  know  Thanksgiving 
Day  even  if  they  saw  it  standing  before  them.  One  of  the 
sailors  named  Miles  Standish  Bradstreet,  who  hailed  from 
Gardiner,  Maine,  said  that  he  had  sailed  for  many  years  in 
lumber  drogers  between  Portland  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
never  in  all  that  time  had  Thanksgiving  Day  been  allowed 
to  pass  without  proper  recognition,  neither  at  sea  nor  in 
port — always  being  observed  with  extra  fare  fore  and  aft. 

The  last  Thursday  in  November  arrived,  which  is  usually 
the  clay  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  each  State  as  a  holi- 
day; but  on  board  of  our  ship  there  was  no  sign  to  denote 
the  event.  Neither  in  the  galley  nor  pantry  was  there  any 
signs  of  unusual  activity.  At  12  meridian,  the  mate,  who 
had  been  observing  the  sun  with  his  sextant,  sung  out, 
"Twelve  o'clock!"  The  captain,  who  for  a  wonder  was  on 
the  quarter-deck,  said  to  the  man  at  the  wheel,  "  Make  it 
so."  "  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  and  he  struck  eight  bells.  The  man 
on  the  lookout  forward  responded  by  striking  eight  bells  on 
the  ship's  bell  and  ran  to  the  forecastle  gangway  and  called 
out,  "Starboard  watch  ahoy!  eight  bells."  The  starboard 
watch  came  on  deck.  Two  of  the  sailors  went  to  the  galley 
to  receive  the  dinner  for  all  hands  forward.  The  cook  gave 
them  one  kit  of  beef,  one  kit  of  pork,  one  bake-pan  full  of 
dandyfunk.     Potatoes  were  long  since  exhausted. 


76  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

Dandyfunk  is  a  dish  composed  of  navy  biscuit  soaked  in 
water,  mashed  with  a  pestle,  mixed  with  fat  taken  from  the 
coppers  in  which  the  meat  is  boiled,  sweetened  with  mo- 
lasses and  flavored  with  allspice,  then  put  into  a  pan  and 
baked  in  the  oven.  It  isn't  a  very  high-toned  dish,  but  in 
the  absence  of  something  better  it  is  very  palatable  to  a 
sailor. 

The  crew  sat  down  on  the  deck,  as  it  was  usual  for  them 
to  do  in  pleasant  weather,  and  ate  their  dinner.  While  the 
dinner  was  being  eaten  Miles  Standish  Bradstreet,  who 
claimed  to  be  a  lineal  descendant  of  Capt.  Miles  Standish, 
the  Pilgrim  warrior,  arose  from  the  deck,  holding  a  big  beef 
bone  in  one  hand,  and  holding  it  up  high  he  delivered  the 
following  elegy  on  the  ox: 

From  Saccarap  to  Portland  pier 
I've  dragged  lumber  for  many  a  year; 
After  a  long  and  sore  abuse, 
They  packed  me  down  for  sailors'  use; 
They  cook  me  up  and  pick  my  bones, 
And  throw  the  rest  to  Davy  Jones. 

And  suiting  the  action  to  the  words,  he  threw  the  bone  over 
the  weather  side  of  the  ship.  The  French  passengers  were 
curiously  watching  the  performance,  and  when  Doctor  Do- 
riot  explained  it  all  to  them  they  laughed  heartily,  and  one 
of  them  sent  a  bottle  of  cognac  brandy  to  the  sailors  while 
another  passenger  filled  a  bread  tray  heaping  full  of  sweet 
biscuits  from  his  private  stores  and  sent  it  forward.  Thus, 
after  all,  the  sailors  had  a  jolly  Thanksgiving  dinner. 

At  1  o'clock  the  passengers  sat  down  to  their  dinner  of 
salt  beef,  salt  pork,  boiled  hominy,  pickles,  rice  pudding 
and  cheese.  Although  it  was  Thanksgiving  Day  there  was 
nothing  said  in  commemoration  of  the  Pilgrim  holiday,  as 
most  of  the  passengers  were  from  Pennsylvania  or  else  from 
the  South,  where  Thanksgiving  Day  was  unknown.  It  re- 
mained for  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Christian  President,  to 
proclaim  Thanksgiving  Day  a  national  holiday  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  this  glorious  land,  that  acknowl- 
edges a  divine  supervision  over  all  nations. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  77 

Having  weathered  Cape  Saint  Roque,  our  course  was 
changed  lo  more  westerly,  and  as  the  wind  was  about  E.  S. 
E.,  we  were  going  free  with  lopmast-studdiugsails  set.  On 
this  day  a  number  of  dolphins  were  seen  swimming  near  our 
quarter.  Capt.  Blanchard  told  Mr.  Bryson  to  bring  the 
grains,  also  a  sea-leadline  for  a  lanyard.  Mr.  Bryson  fitted 
the  grains  to  the  staff,  lashed  the  lanyard  to  it,  and  then 
took  it  aft  to  the  captain.  The  captain  grasped  the  grains 
and  stood  near  the  taflrail  watching  for  a  chance.  The  fish 
would  approach  until  they  were  almost  under  the  ship's 
counter,  and  then  suddenly  dart  off  to  a  distance.  After  a 
time  the  captain  saw  his  opportunity;  he  threw  the  grains 
and  lo,  it  struck  a  dolphin.  There  was  great  excitement  on 
the  quarter-deck  among  the  passengers.  The  fish  darted  in 
every  direction  and  turned  up  its  sides,  showing  the  most 
beautiful  colors  imaginable.  After  its  struggles  had  some- 
what subsided  it  was  hauled  on  deck  by  the  willing  aid  of 
the  passengers.  It  measured  all  of  five  feet  in  length.  The 
ladies  congratulated  the  captain  for  the  accuracy  of  his 
throw  and  he  seemed  as  proud  as  a  peacock  because  of  his 
achievement.  The  dolphin  laid  on  deck  twisting  and  turn- 
ing, while  his  skin  showed  every  color  of  the  raiobow. 

The  captain  ordered  the  cook  to  clean  it  and  fry  it.  He 
handed  him  a  silver  half-dollar  piece  and  told  him  to  let  it 
remain  in  the  frying-pan  while  the  fish  was  cooking,  and 
when  the  fish  was  cooked  to  fetch  the  half  dollar  to  him  so 
that  he  might  note  its  color.  After  the  fish  was  fried  the 
cook  returned  the  half  dollar  to  the  captain,  and  it  had  be- 
come as  black  as  a  piece  of  coal.  The  captain  became  con- 
vinced that  the  fish  was  poisonous,  and  ordered  it  to  be 
thrown  overboard  at  once.  Thus  the  ladies  lost  their  antici- 
pated feast  of  fried  dolphin. 

The  reason  of  the  fish  being  in  a  poisonous  condition 
was  because  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  over  which  we  were 
then  sailing  was  heavily  impregnated  with  copper  ore,  and 
the  ocean  weeds  on  which  the  fishes  feed  contained  the  ver- 
digris that  exudes  from  the  copper  ore,  hence  whoever  eats 
such  fish  becomes  poisoned. 


78  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

The  weather  now  showed  signs  of  an  approaching  change. 
Scuds  were  flying  to  the  eastward  and  at  the  setting:  of  the 
sun  it  was  partially  obscured  by  heavy  clouds  that  appeared 
to  be  charged  with  rain.  The  wind  was  still  from  E.  S.  E., 
while  our  course  was  S.  W.  by  S.  Toward  midnight  the 
wind  died  away  and  the  ship  lay  moving  with  the  gentle  un- 
dulations of  the  ocean,  while  her  sails  flapped  helplessly 
against  the  masts.  At  6  a.  m.  it  began  to  rain  in  gentle 
drops  while  the  sky  was  invisible  on  account  of  the  heavy 
clouds.  We  took  the  two  lower  studdingsails  and  spread 
one  over  the  upper  cabin  deck  and  the  other  over  the  long- 
boat on  top  of  the  forward  house,  in  order  that  we  might 
catch  all  the  fresh  water  possible  wherewith  to  wash  our 
persons  and  also  our  clothes.  The  rain  now  came  down  in 
torrents  and  the  wind  began  to  increase,  but  as  it  was  still 
comparatively  moderate  we  did  not  shorten  sail.  We  filled 
two  water  casks  with  rain  water  and  were  still  busy  when 
the  alarm  was  given  with  startling  emphasis:  "A  water- 
spout! A  water-spout!"  We  stopped  dipping  the  fresh 
water  at  once  and  looked  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the 
alarmist,  and  to  our  consternation  we  saw  an  enormous 
water-spout  off  our  starboard  quarter,  about  six  hundred 
feet  off,  and  moving  with  a  rotary  motion  towards  the  ship. 

The  captain,  who  stood  on  the  quarter-deck,  ordered  the 
mate  to  fetch  up  the  swivel  cannon  from  its  locker  in  the 
lower  cabin.  The  mate  called  two  men  and  they  went  down 
below  and  quickly  returned  with  the  cannon,  which  was 
always  kept  loaded  for  emergencies.  It  was  taken  forward 
and  shipped  into  the  socket  on  the  top  of  the  samson  post. 
The  touch-hole  was  protected  by  a  heavy  apron  of  painted 
canvas.  The  mate  went  to  the  cabin  and  soon  ran  out  with 
a  lighted  fuse,  which  he  shielded  under  his  oilcloth  coat. 
He  stood  ready  for  the  word  of  command.  The  water-spout 
was  moving  with  the  wind  towards  the  ship  with  a  threaten- 
ing swirl.  It  was  now  within  two  hundred  feet  of  the  ship, 
and  it  looked  awe  inspiring.  It  looked  like  an  immense  bal- 
loon when  it  is  inflated  and  about  to  be  loosened  from  its 
moorings.     Every  man  on  board  the  ship  was  on  deck,  re- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


79 


80  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

gardless  of  the  pouring  rain,  and  each  seemed  to  be  holding 
his  breath  with  fright.  This  brought  to  my  mind  the  words 
of  holy  writ:  "Deep  calleth  unto  deep  at  the  voice  of  thy 
water-spouts." — Psalms,  42,  7th  verse.  The  suspense  was 
horrible.  All  at  once  the  captain  thundered  out:  "Fire!" 
Whiz,  bang,  went  the  charge  and  sent  the  one  pound  iron 
ball  into  the  water-spout,  which  collapsed  into  a  seething, 
swirling,  foaming  mass  of  lumpy  ocean.  It  appeared  to 
have  contained  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  to  have  sub- 
merged the  ship  twenty  feet  deep.  We  were  saved.  I  felt 
at  that  moment  that  I  could  forgive  Capt.  Blanchard  for  all 
his  previous  shortcomings,  for  had  the  water-spout  struck 
the  ship  in  its  entirety  it  would  have  sunk  her  there  and 
then. 

After  the  collapse  of  the  water-spout  a  discussion  arose 
between  Doctor  Doriot,  who  was  educated  in  Girard  Col- 
lege, and  Mr.  Shorb,  the  Virginia  lawyer,  who  had  been 
educated  at  Yale,  where  most  of  the  young  Southerners  were 
graduated  at  that  time.  Doctor  Doriot  remarked  that  the 
aim  of  Mr.  Cranston  had  been  very  accurate,  for  the  ball 
had  penetrated  the  water-spout,  and  thereby  destroyed  the 
suction,  and  hence  the  collapse.  Mr.  Shorb  said  that  such 
was  not  the  case.  He  said  that  the  explosion  of  the  powder 
had  caused  a  concussion  in  the  air  and  consequently  had 
destroyed  the  entity  of  the  water-spout  and  caused  its  total 
collapse.  The  two  collegians  continued  their  wrangling  in 
the  cabin  to  the  annoyance  of  the  other  passengers,  who 
were  satisfied  with  the  result  without  caring  about  hair- 
splitting theories. 

Towards  noon  the  weather  began  to  clear  up  and  the 
wind  changed  to  the  northwest,  giving  us  a  fair  wind.  By 
the  noon  observation  our  latitude  was  9  85  south,  longitude 
37  40  west,  making  the  distance  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  950 
miles;  course,  S.  S.  W. 

It  was  now  the  fourth  day  of  December  and  we  began  to 
look  forward  with  pleasure  to  an  early  arrival  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  We  sighted  a  vessel  occasionally,  steering  south 
like  ourselves,  which  made  it  seem  very  companionable  from 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  81 

the  fact  that  when  at  sea  there  is  nothing  in  sight  but  sky  and 
water  and  the  only  living  thing  to  be  seen  is  the  poor  little 
"mother  Carey's  chickens,"  which  little  creatures  become 
endeared  to  the  sailor  by  their  constant  companionship  on 
the  wide,  lonely  ocean.  Mother  Carey's  chickens  are  little 
ocean  birds  that  very  much  resemble  the  little  swallows  that 
are  so  common  around  the  barn  on  shore.  They  follow  a 
ship  constantly,  in  sunshine  and  in  storm,  and  dart  around, 
her  like  little  guardian  angels  to  look  out  for  the  welfare  of 
poor  Jack.  The  mate  now  ordered  the  masts  to  be  scraped, 
the  rigging  tarred  down,  the  bulwarks  to  be  painted,  and 
everything  on  board  to  be  made  sightly  and  j)resentable. 
Mr.  Bryson  was  now  as  busy  as  a  hen  with  twenty  chickens. 
He  kept  the  men  hard  at  it  from  8  o'clock  in  the  morning 
until  noon,  and  from  1  P.  M.  until  5  p.  M.  As  to  me,  they 
never  called  upon  me  to  do  more  than  what  I  agreed  to  do. 
That  was  to  "  work  ship,"  take  my  regular  trick  at  the  wheel 
and  my  turn  at  the  lookout. 

Capt.  Blanchard  again  sent  for  young  Brainard,  who,  in 
obedience  to  the  summons,  went  into  the  lower  cabin,  where 
the  captain  detained  him  for  nearly  an  hour.  When  he  re- 
turned on  deck  I  saw  that  he  looked  flushed  and  troubled. 
The  first  opportunity  he  had  he  told  me  that  the  captain  had 
demanded  of  him  that  he  turn  over  to  him  his  father's  papers, 
including  the  bills  of  lading,  as  he,  being  but  a  boy,  was  not 
a  fit  cu=;todian  for  them.  He  declined  to  yield  to  the  cap- 
tain's demand;  he  then  told  him  that  he  was  but  an  inter- 
loper on  board  of  his  ship,  and  for  that  reason  he  would  put 
him  ashore  the  very  moment  that  the  anchor  was  dropped  in 
Kio  de  Janeiro.  This  threat  produced  a  very  depressing 
effect  on  the  poor  youth  and  caused  the  tears  to  run  down 
his  cheeks.  I  pitied  the  poor  fellow  and  tried  to  console 
him  with  cheering  words.  I  then  thought  of  the  poetic 
couplet: 

"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man, 
Makes  countless  thousands  mourn." 

The  weather  was  now  very  warm,  and  the  wind  a  whole 
sail  breeze  from  east  to  east  nor' east,  and  our  course  was 


82  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

soutli  southwest.  December  tenth,  by  observation  at  noon, 
was  lat.  11  17  S.,  long.  41  03  W.  All  hands  and  the  passen- 
gers availed  themselves  of  the  chance  to  use  the  rain  water, 
which  we  had  saved  during  the  rainstorm,  and  the  decks 
presented  the  appearance  of  a  floating  laundry.  We  washed 
our  sea-going  clothes  and  scrubbed  our  persons  to  get  off  a 
coating  of  salt  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  as  we  had 
been  deprived  of  our  fresh  water  privileges  for  a  long  time. 
The  passengers  now  began  to  practice  the  tonsorial  art  upon 
one  another — cutting  the  hair,  trimming  the  whiskers  of 
more  than  sixty  days'  growth,  shaving  and  shampooing.  Our 
fare  at  the  table  began  to  improve,  as  the  steward  and  the 
cooks  knew  that  they  would  have  a  respite  from  their  labors 
for  a  time  after  we  arrived  in  Eio.  We  had  for  dinner,  daily, 
besides  beef  and  pork,  baked  beans,  boiled  hominy, 
tapioca  pudding  enriched  with  eggs,  and  cornstarch  pud- 
ding with  cheese.  For  supper,  dried  beef  sliced,  hot  bis- 
cuits, dried  apple  sauce,  and  fine  doughnuts. 

December  eighteenth  the  cry  of  "land  ho!"  from  a  man 
aloft.  "Where  away?"  sung  out  the  mate.  "Three  points 
on  the  lee-bow,  sir!"  "Very  well,"  said  the  mate.  The 
captain  was  called,  who  at  once  came  on  deck.  He  and  the 
mate  held  a  conference,  and  they  decided  that  the  land  in 
sight  was  Cape  Frio,  lat.  23  01  S.,  long.  41  59  W.  The  cap- 
tain ordered  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  keep  her  off  two  points. 
"  Aye,  aye,  sir!  "  responded  the  man,  at  the  same  time  sway- 
ing the  helm  to  port.  The  weather  braces  were  ordered  to 
be  checked  in  and  the  ship  felt  the  impulse  of  the  favoring 
breeze  and  accelerated  her  speed  considerably.  After  dark 
we  sighted  Cape  Frio  light.  The  captain  ordered  the  mates 
to  place  two  men  on  the  look-out,  as  we  were  in  the  track  of 
vessels  that  were  bound  into  Rio.  The  passengers  stood 
around  on  deck  until  eight  bells,  discussing  the  probable 
length  of  our  detention  in  Kio.  One  gentleman  from  Penn- 
sylvania who  was  on  board  with  his  wife,  declared  that  if  he 
ever  got  a  chance  to  put  his  feet  on  dry  land  once  more  that 
he  would  not  go  to  sea  again  with  such  a  captain,  even  if  he 
and  his  wife  had  to  work  their  passage  back  to  their  home. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  83 

But  the  gentleman  had  no  occasion  to  do  so  for  the  reason 
that  he  had  ample  means,  and  afterwards  he  left  the  ship  in 
Rio  and  took  passage  for  himself  and  wife  in  the  ship 
"  Ducalion,"  that  touched  at  Rio  on  her  way  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

On  the  nineteenth  we  had  a  spanking  breeze  and  old  "Sam- 
son "  was  putting  in  her  best  licks.  The  captain  had  now 
laid  aside  all  foolishness  and  staid  on  deck  all  day,  watched 
the  weather,  conned  the  helm,  and  observed  all  that  was 
going  on.  I  then  thought  that  if  he  had  acted  thus  from 
the  time  that  we  took  our  departure  from  Cape  Henlopen 
we  would  now  have  been  well  on  towards  Cape  Horn  by  this 
time.  We  were  overtaken  by  a  number  of  vessels  that  were 
steering  the  same  course.  We  were  spoken  by  one  vessel 
showing  the  Danish  flag — red  ground  and  white  cross — but 
as  there  was  no  Dane  on  board  our  ship  we  couldn't  under- 
stand them. 

Ou  the  twentieth  of  December  we  entered  the  harbor  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  We  went  in  by  the  Sugar  Loaf — a  conical 
rock  that  rises  sharply  out  of  the  water  and  reaches  up  many 
hundred  feet,  and,  as  its  name  designates,  in  shape  of  a 
sugar  loaf.  Next  we  passed  the  fortresses  Santa  Cruz  and 
San  Juan,  and  sailed  up  towards  the  anchorage,  and  the 
chains  having  been  shackled  to  the  anchors  and  the  lashings 
cast  off,  the  order  was  given  to  take  in  sail.  Down  came 
the  royals;  down  came  the  topgallantsails;  up  went  the 
courses,  down  came  the  jib;  down  came  the  three  topsails; 
down  came  the  foretopmast  staysail.  The  spanker  brought 
the  ship  up  to  the  wind  and  she  lost  her  headway.  "Stand 
by  your  larboard  anchor!  "  "Aye,  aye,  sir!"  answered  the 
mate.  As  the  ship  reached  up  to  the  wind  and  began  to 
gather  sternway,  the  order  was  given:  "Let  go  your 
anchor!"  "Let  go  it  is!"  and  way  went  the  anchor,  and 
whirr  went  the  chain  until  the  anchor  struck  bottom.  Then 
the  ship  trended  to  the  wind:  then  we  were  safe  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  after  a  tedious  voyage  of  seventy-six  days. 

As  I  looked  around  the  harbor  with  its  numerous  ship- 
ping, and  cast  my  eyes  towards  the  beautiful  city  before  us. 


84  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

and  as  I  looked  around  upon  our  leaky  ship,  short  of  pro- 
visions, short  of  water,  an  indifferent,  bibulous  captain,  and 
then  I  felt  a  longing  and  desire  to  reach  California  by  some 
other  vessel,   the  beautiful  verse  of  a  hymn  arose  to  my 

mind: 

"  Thus  far  tlie  Lord  hath  led  me  on, 

Thus  far  he  hath  prolonged  my  days, 
And  every  evening  doth  make  known, 
Some  fresh  memorial  of  His  grace." 

Here  we  were  anchored  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  lat.  23  37  23 
S.,  long.  43  08  34  W.,  after  a  passage  of  seventy-six  days 
from  Philadelphia.  The  captain  ordered  his  gig,  which  had 
been  turned  over  on  the  upper  cabin  deck,  and  protected  by 
a  painted  canvas  jacket,  to  be  put  in  the  water  alongside. 
This  job  was  quickly  done.  The  boat  leaked  a  little,  but  the 
captain  took  along  two  men  to  row  him  ashore,  and  the  boy 
Dick  to  bail  out  the  water.  As  the  captain  was  going  over 
the  side  he  ordered  the  mate  to  get  the  longboat  off  the  for- 
ward house  and  get  her  into  the  water.  It  was  then  five 
o'clock.  We  furled  the  sails,  and  then  rigged  the  tackles  to 
hoist  the  longboat,  as  she  was  large  and  heavy.  When 
everything  was  ready,  the  mate  sang  out,  "Hoist  away!" 
As  the  tackles  were  drawn  taut,  the  men  called  to  Stan- 
wood:  "  Give  a  shanter,  old  boy  !  "  And  he  sang  the  fol- 
lowing hoisting  song,  which  was  chorused  by  the  men: 

"  The  ladies  like  Madeira  wine, 
The  gents  they  like  their  brandy  oh! 
So  early  in  the  morning — 
The  sailor  likes  his  bottle  oh! 
His  bottle  oh!  his  bottle  oh! 
The  sailor  likes  his  bottle  oh! 

CHOKUS. 

So  early  in  the  morning — 
The  sailor  likes  his  bottle  oh! " 

The  longboat  was  lowered  into  the  water,  and,  with  a 
double  painter,  was  secured  astern  of  the  ship.  The  captain 
returned  on  board  at  eight  o'clock  and  brought  off  a  quantity 
of  fresh  beef  and  sweet  potatoes.     The  captain,  immediately 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  85 

after  he  came  on  board,  descended  to  the  lower  cabin,  and 
was  not  seen  again  that  night.  Dick,  the  boy,  said  that  the 
captain  went  to  a  big  hotel  and  engaged  accommodations  for 
himself  and  family  for  the  time  that  he  would  remain  in 
port.  We  all  retired  early,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  turn  into 
the  berth  and  repose  freed  from  the  constant  unceasing  mo- 
tion of  the  ship  and  the  creaking  of  her  timbers.  The  next 
morning  everyone  was  up  early.  The  second  mate  and  the 
sailors  had  already  commenced  to  wash  down  the  decks  and 
pumping  out  the  ship,  that  leaked  as  much  while  lying  at 
anchor  as  she  had  done  when  she  was  at  sea.  After  the 
decks  were  washed,  Mr.  Bryson  took  his  station  on  the  top- 
gallant forecastle  and  scanned  the  yards  while  they  were 
squared  by  the  lifts  and  braces.  As  to  myself  I  was  now 
relieved  from  any  furtlier  duty.  As  soon  as  the  anchor  had 
struck  bottom  and  the  sails  had  been  furled  I  became  my 
own  master  again. 

At  eight  o'clock  we  had  breakfast  of  fried  beef,  boiled 
sweet  potatoes,  and  hot  biscuits.  The  mate  told  us  that  such 
of  the  passengers  as  wanted  to  go  ashore  should  be  ready  bv 
nine  o'clock,  at  which  time  he  would  have  one  of  the  quarter 
boats  ready  to  take  us  there.  After  breakfast  I  went  to  my 
chest  and  took  out  my  warm  weather  go-ashore  suit,  which 
I  had  bought  in  Havana,  Cuba,  two  years  before.  It  con- 
sisted of  white  linen  jacket,  vest  and  trowsers,  a  pair  of 
morocco  shoes,  and  a  Panama  straw  hat.  White  shirts  I 
had  a  good  supply  of.  I  had  in  my  mind  the  injunction  of 
Polonius  to  his  son  Laertes,  when  he  was  about  to  go  abroad 
among  strangers: 

"  Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy, 
But  not  expressed  in  fancy; 
Eich,  not  gaudy; 
For  the  apparel  oft  proclaims  the  man." 

After  I  had  donned  my  go-ashore  toggery  I  went  out  on 
deck  and  there  I  found  Mr.  Bryson,  good  natured  as  usual, 
and  smoking  his  after-breakfast  cigar.  When  he  saw  me, 
he  exclaimed:  "  Why,  I  declare,  you  look  like  a  supercargo 
that  is  just  going  ashore  to  sell  the  ship's  cargo  to  the  mer- 


86  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

chants  of  the  port.  Well,  young  feller,  '  go  it  while  you're 
young,  for  when  you're  old  you  can't.'"  The  quarter  boat 
had  been  lowered  and  as  many  of  us  as  could  find  room  got 
into  her  and  were  rowed  ashore  by  two  of  the  sailors.  We 
arrived  at  a  small  stone  jetty  where  the  small  boats  landed 
their  passengers.  The  lower  harbor  is  spacious,  being  about 
ten  miles  from  shore  to  shore,  and  its  length  is  sixteen  miles 
from  the  entrance  to  the  head  of  the  harbor,  making  it  one 
of  the  safest  land-locked  havens  in  the  world.  When  a  ship 
calls  in  Rio  for  orders  or  for  obtaining  fresh  provisions  she 
anchors  in  the  lower  harbor,  as  in  cove  of  Cork,  Ireland, 
but  when  she  is  to  load  or  unload  then  she  is  taken  to  the 
upper  harbor,  about  a  mile  above,  where  it  is  more  land- 
locked and  where  all  the  wharves  are  built.  When  we 
jumped  on  shore,  my  companions  instinctively  grasped  one 
another  by  the  hand,  and  offered  congratulations  for  our  safe 
delivery  from  the  dangers  of  the  mighty  deep,  and  thanks 
to  an  overruling  Providence  for  permitting  us  to  again  place 
our  feet  on  "  terra  firma." 

As  we  stepped  ashore  we  were  surrounded  by  a  horde  of 
swarthy  Portuguese  and  coal-black  negroes,  speaking  a  jar- 
gon of  unintelligible  conglomeration  of  half  a  dozen  lan- 
guages. This  mixture  of  tongues  was  easily  accounted  for 
when  I  saw  the  flags  of  most  every  maritime  nation  floating 
from  the  different  ships  in  the  harbor,  who,  like  ourselves, 
had  touched  there  either  for  provisions  or  from  stress  of 
weather,  to  repair  damages.  After  we  had  passed  through 
the  crowd  that  had  intercepted  us  at  the  beach,  we  saw  a 
large  building  of  two  high  stories,  with  a  wide  balcony  sur- 
rounding the  second-story,  which  was  shaded  by  an  awning 
of  striped  canvas,  which  made  it  look  very  gay  and  attractive. 
Surmounting  the  parapet  was  an  immense  sign  bearing  the 
legend  "Hotel  do  Pharoux,"  in  letters  large  enough  to  be  seen 
from  a  mile  distant  in  the  harbor.  As  we  approached  the 
place  we  saw  a  great  number  of  persons  going  in  and  com- 
ing out  of  the  spacious  barroom.  As  we  approached  we 
were  accosted  by  a  great  number  of  California  bound  gold 
seekers,  who  asked  what  ship  we  had  come  on  and  how  long 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  87 

we  had  been  on  the  way.  We  found  that  we  had  been  longer 
on  our  passage  than  any  other  vessel  then  in  the  harbor. 

Our  company  now  paired  off.  Mr.  Cluffwater  and  myself 
went  together.  We  found  Rio  to  be  a  city  that  was  built 
mostly  on  a  level  plain,  which  comprised  the  business  por- 
tion. On  the  right  from  where  we  landed  was  a  rise  of 
gently  ascending  hills  on  which  are  built  many  monasteries 
and  convents,  in  which  the  city  abounds,  as  well  as  quiet 
residences;  but  the  business  was  done  iu  the  level  part  of 
the  city.  After  we  passed  the  hotel  we  arrived  in  front  of  a 
building  of  two  high  stories  and  of  very  great  length,  with  a 
courtyard  in  front  in  which  was  a  large  marble  fountain  that 
was  throAving  a  jet  of  water  that  sparkled  in  the  sun  like  a 
shower  of  diamonds. 

This,  we  learned,  was  the  palace  of  the  Emperor.  It 
was  built  of  stone,  like  all  the  other  buildings  that  we  saw. 
It  was  very  comfortable  in  outward  appearance,  but  there 
was  no  architectural  display.  It  might  be  called  neat  but 
not  gaudy.  At  the  archway  of  the  entrance  I  saw  a  solitarv 
sentinel  pacing  back  and  forth.  No  other  display  of  mili- 
tary pomp  did  I  see  at  that  time.  Adjoining  the  palace  was 
the  Emperor's  chapel,  which,  although  called  a  chapel,  was 
in  reality  a  large  church.  It  had  no  exterior  elegance,  but 
when  I  visited  it  some  days  afterwards  I  found  that  the  in- 
terior, architecturally  and  ornamentally,  was  very  grand  and 
magnificent.  It  has  a  vaulted  roof,  with  a  succession  of 
arches  resting  on  pillars  fluted  and  gilded,  giving  the  interior 
an  appearance  of  unparalleled  grandeur.  The  main  altar  was 
indescribably  rich  with  images  and  carvings.  Between  the 
pillars  were  side  altars  dedicated  to  saints;  portieres  of  gold 
cloth  leading  into  the  sacristy.  The  organ  loft  was  imme- 
diately over  the  entrance.  Outside  the  railing  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, extending  a  few  feet,  were  two  elevated  grand  chairs 
for  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress,  with  a  few  less  conspic- 
uous seats  for  his  suite.  The  floor  of  the  church  was  devoid 
of  pews,  and  the  grand  ladies,  when  they  attended  mass, 
were  attended  by  female  slaves  with  tiny  mats  for  their  mis- 
tresses to  kneel  upon.    All  the  women,  when  attending  mass. 


88  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

wore  a  head  covering  called  a  mantilla,  for  Saint  Paul  says 
that  a  woman  in  church  should  have  her  head  covered.  The 
mantilla  worn  in  the  church  enables  the  men,  who  have  to 
stand  in  the  rear  of  the  women,  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  altar 
and  see  all  the  service.  In  this  country  the  women  who  go 
to  church  wear  a  head  gear  of  such  enormous  proportions 
that  persons  sitting  in  the  back  pews  cannot  obtain  a  view 
of  the  altar  unless  they  stand  on  stilts.  The  singing  was  by 
male  voices,  as  females  were  not  allowed  to  sing  in  the 
churches  of  Brazil,  nor  in  Portugal,  nor  in  Spain,  for  that 
matter. 

We  traversed  the  city  and  found  many  strange  things. 
The  aqueduct  that  conveys  the  water  to  the  city  from  the 
springs  on  the  hillsides  some  fourteen  miles  from  the  city, 
is  a  massive  structure  of  solid  masonry.  It  looks  as  though 
it  was  built  to  endure  for  all  time.  It  is  built  of  stone  on  a 
double  tier  of  arches,  and  the  trough  is  covered  with  brick- 
work, which  prevents  evaporation  and  also  keeps  the  water 
comparatively  cool.  There  are  several  receiving  cisterns 
throughout  the  city,  whence  it  is  distributed  by  Negro  water- 
carriers,  called  aquedores,  who  carry  the  water  in  wooden 
vessels  that  resemble  a  butter  churn,  with  bright  iron  hoops, 
and  hold  about  five  gallons.  Thus  you  will  encounter  the 
water-carriers  with  vessels  on  their  heads,  trotting  along  in 
all  parts  of  the  city.  The  aqueduct  strongly  reminded  the 
beholder  of  the  remnants  of  Roman  masonry  yet  to  be  found 
in  many  parts  of  Portugal  and  Spain. 

The  market  is  an  immense  quadrangular  building  of 
stone,  one  very  high  story  in  height,  containing  one  wide 
arched  entrance  on  each  of  its  four  sides.  It  is  about 
twenty  feet  in  depth  all  around,  roofed  and  divided  into 
shops,  which  are  occupied  by  small  merchants.  Inside  is 
an  open  court,  large  and  entirely  paved  with  granite.  In 
the  center  of  the  court  is  a  large  fountain  which  discharges 
a  stream  of  water  that  rises  some  feet  into  the  air  and  then 
falls  back  into  the  large  marble  basin,  where  it  evaporates 
and  thereby  cools  the  heated  atmosphere.  In  this  square 
are  stone  tables  resting  on  granite  columns,  whereon  were 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


89 


displayed  the  innumerable  products  of  that  productive 
country.  Beef,  mutton,  pork,  poultry,  iish  dripping  fresh 
from  the  ocean,  vegetables  of  every  kind  to  be  found  in 
semi-tropical  climates,  fruits  which  to  enumerate  would  re- 
quire a  volume  of  itself;  parrots,  parroquetes,  singing  birds 
that  piped  the  most  delicious  liquid  notes,  and  last,  but  not 
least,  were  the  slaves,  male  and  female,  offered  for  sale  in 
the  open  market.  Here  were  offered  strong  men,  robust 
women  and  children,  for  sale  the  same  as  donkeys  and  goats. 
Some  of  those  offered  for  sale  were  not  more  than  four 
mouths  from  their  native  land — Africa.  There  they  were 
offered  on  the  altar  of  mammon — all  for  glittering  gold. 

Across  the  harbor  from  Rio  is  Preia  Grande,  where  a 
slave   depot   is   maintained.      There   the   slave   schooners, 

which  are  built 
in  Baltimore  for 
that  very  pur- 
pose, discharge 
their  cargoes  of 
slaves  under  the 
cover  of  darkness 
and  dispose  of 
them  to  the  cof- 
fee planters  at 
high  prices.  The 
enterprise  was 
dangerous  be- 
cause of  the  activity  of  the  English  cruisers  which  were 
sent  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the  nefarious  traffic. 

"  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains, 

From  India's  coral  strand; 
Where  Afric's  sunny  fountains 

Roll  down  their  golden  sand; 
From  many  an  ancient  river, 

From  many  a  palmy  plain, 
They  call  us  to  deliver 

Their  land  from  error's  chain." 

England  had  declared  slave-hunting  to  be  piracy,  and 
the  penalty  was  a  short  shrift  and  a  long  rope.    While  upon 


90  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

this  subject  I  am  reminded  of  a  tragic  occurrence  which 
took  place  off  the  coast  of  Africa  in  1845.  While  England 
had  a  fleet  of  fast  sailing  cruisers  on  the  African  station  to 
break  up  the  slave  trade,  she  invited  the  United  States  to 
co-operate  with  her  to  entirely  eradicate  the  inhuman  traffic. 
The  executive  department  of  the  United  States  Government 
was  at  that  time  in  the  hands  of  Southern  slave-holders  and 
their  sympathizers,  but  as  we  claimed  to  be  a  Christian  na- 
tion, the  invitation  could  not  be  wholly  ignored.  Therefore 
a  man-of-war  brig,  the  "Somers,"  Commander  McKenzie, 
was  ordered  to  the  African  station  to  co-operate  with  the 
English  cruisers  in  suppressing  the  slave-buying  traffic. 
While  she  was  sailing  along  the  coast,  exploring  for  the 
rendezvous  and  the  barracoons  of  the  slave  sellers  and  slave 
buyers,  a  passed  midshipman  on  board  the  brig,  who  had 
been  reading  bad  buccaneering  books,  conceived  the  idea 
of  conspiring  with  some  of  the  crew  whom  he  thought  he 
could  influence  and  executing  a  well-formed  plot,  seize  the 
vessel,  capture  the  commander  and  the  officers  and  make 
them  walk  the  plank  overboard  in  the  regular  pirate  fashion. 
After  dispatching  the  officers  his  plan  was  to  offer  all  those 
who  joined  him  a  share  in  the  robberies  which  he  contem- 
plated; but  if  any  man  refused,  then  overboard  with  him  to 
join  the  captain  and  his  officers.  After  he  obtained  the  full 
possession  of  the  brig  he  intended  to  cruise  around  the 
Canary  and  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands  and  cut  off  the  East 
Indiamen  that  came  around  Cape  Good  Hope,  send  the 
crews  to  Davy  Jones'  locker,  and  after  appropriating  all  that 
the  vessels  contained  of  value,  set  them  on  fire  and  let  them 
sink. 

He  approached  one  of  the  petty  officers  and  divulged  to 
him  his  secret,  and  in  that  way  they  enlisted  quite  a  number 
of  the  men  in  their  horrible  enterprise.  But  "God  moves 
in  a  mysterious  way  His  wonders  to  perform."  One  of  the 
men  who  had  been  enlisted  in  the  murderous  conspiracy  be- 
came conscience  stricken.  He  went  to  the  executive  officer, 
confessed,  and  divulged  the  whole  plot.  In  a  spirit  of  con- 
trition he  gave  a  full  account  of  the  details  and  the  time  for 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  91 

their  execution.  The  executive  officer  at  once  apprised  the 
commauder  of  their  danger.  Commander  McKenzie  at  once 
ordered  the  culprit  to  be  put  in  irons,  and  all  his  confeder- 
ates into  confinement.  On  the  following  day  a  court  martial 
was  convened,  composed  of  his  brother  officers.  He  was 
put  on  trial  and  found  guilty  of  attempt  to  commit  piracy; 
penalty,  death.  Capt.  McKenzie  being  the  senior  captain 
on  the  station,  as  there  was  no  other  man-of-war  there,  he 
approved  the  finding  and  ordered  that  the  sentence  be  at 
once  carried  into  effect.  As  the  situation  was  fraught  with 
great  danger,  the  safety  of  the  vessel  and  security  of  the 
crew  demanded  prompt  action.  Therefore  on  the  day  fol- 
lowing the  past  midshipman  was  hung  to  the  yardarm,  a 
fearful  example  of  perverted  talent  and  a  depraved  heart. 
In  the  meantime  every  loyal  man  on  board  was  kept  under 
arms  until  the  tragedy  was  ended,  to  prevent  the  malcon- 
tents from  breaking  out  into  open  revolt.  The  fate  of  their 
leader  was  held  up  to  his  confederates  as  an  example  of  what 
they  might  expect  if  they  manifested  any  signs  of  insubor- 
dination. 

"When  the  "Somers"  arrived  in  Hampton  Roads  and 
Commander  McKenzie  had  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  there  was  a  tremendous  excitement  throughout  the 
country,  the  people  taking  sides  for  or  against  the  action  of 
Commantler  McKenzie.  The  young  officer  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  an  influential  family,  and  for  that  reason  there  was 
such  a  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  the  President  that  he 
caused  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  order  a  court  martial 
for  the  trial  of  Commander  McKenzie,  which  attracted  much 
attention.  After  a  thorough  investigation  the  court  decided 
that  the  safety  of  the  vessel  and  the  crew  required  both 
firmness  and  promptness  on  the  part  of  Commander  McKen- 
zie, therefore  his  action  was  justified  and  approved. 

From  the  very  nature  of  the  conditions  that  surround 
the  captain  of  a  ship  at  sea  his  authority  on  board  of  ship 
must  be  supreme.  Such  being  the  case,  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  captain  should  be  a  sober,  intelligent, 
and    cool-headed  man,   for  on  these  qualities  depend  the 


92  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

safety  of  the  ship  and  the  lives  of  every  one  on  board  of 
her. 

As  Brazil  is  much  nearer  to  Africa  than  what  Cuba  is  the 
slavers  can  reach  this  market  much  easier  and  dispose  of 
their  human  chattels  at  less  risk  than  they  can  by  running 
the  gauntlet  of  making  their  way  to  Cuba,  where  they  realize 
much  higher  prices  for  their  slaves.  All  the  local  transpor- 
tatioD  is  done  by  the  slaves.  This  is  the  most  extensive  cof- 
fee market  in  the  world  and  the  transportation  from  ware- 
house to  ship  is  done  by  slaves.  They  will  form  a  line  of 
about  twenty  men,  each  with  a  sack  of  coffee  that  weighs  120 
pounds,  on  the  top  of  his  head,  and  they  will  march  along 
in  single  file  for  a  distance  of  from  a  half  mile  to  a  mile — 
from  warehouse  to  ship,  without  stopping.  While  on  their 
way  they  maintain  a  uniform  gait  by  singing  a  monotone  like 
"You,  you,  you!  Yah,  yah!"  So  they  go  through  the  streets 
with  bare  shining  bodies  with  short  cotton  breeches  on 
them.  They  seem  to  be  unconcerned,  and  seem  to  be  happy 
in  their  way,  thereby  verifying  the  adage  of  Shakspeare — 

"  Where  ignorance  is  bliss  'tis  folly  to  be  wise." 

Most  of  the  houses  in  Rio  are  built  of  unhewn  stone  and 
covered  on  the  outside  with  cement,  and  colored  in  light 
shades.  As  a  general  rule  the  houses  are  built  two  stories 
high,  with  very  high  ceilings,  on  account  of  the  Avarm 
weather.  The  roofs  are  of  red  tile,  as  they  are  in  Portugal; 
in  fact,  if  a  man  were  to  drop  down  in  a  balloon  into  one  of 
the  narrow  streets  in  Kio  de  Janeiro — and  the  streets  are  all 
narrow — he  might  imagine  that  he  was  in  Lisbon;  with  this 
difference,  however,  Rio  is  much  cleaner  than  Lisbon.  Per- 
haps this  cleanliness  is  not  so  much  from  choice  as  it  is  from 
necessity,  as  Rio,  being  in  the  tropics,  is  subject  to  dreadful 
fevers  during  the  summer  months — from  February  to  May. 
My  companion  and  myself  found  ourselves  in  front  of  a 
hotel  on  which  was  a  sign  "  Hotel  do  Lisboa."  It  was  now 
about  three  o'clock  and  we  felt  ravenously  hungry,  therefore 
we  entered  and  sat  down  at  one  of  the  many  small  tables 
that  were  ranged  around  the  side  of  the  room.     At  the  up- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  93 

per  end  of  the  room  was  a  small  bar;  the  ceiling  was  very 
high,  the  windows  were  shaded,  and  the  large  room  was 
quite  cool.  The  man  behind  the  bar  tinkled  a  tiny  bell  and 
a  young  follow  came  out  of  a  rear  room  and  approached  us. 
I  told  him  that  we  desired  to  have  something  to  eat,  and,  if 
convenient,  would  like  a  chicken  and  vegetables.  He  ans- 
wered that  it  would  be  ready  in  half  an  hour.  I  afterwards 
learned  how  they  prepare  chicken  for  the  table  in  Rio.  Each 
hotel  has  a  large  coop  in  the  yard  back  of  the  kitchen,  in 
which  are  placed  the  chickens  as  they  are  brought  from  the 
country.  When  the  order  is  received  for  fried  chicken  the 
fowl  is  taken  from  the  coop,  decapitated,  and  immersed  in 
hot  water  and  the  feathers  removed.  It  is  then  disjointed, 
wiped,  and,  presto !  it  is  in  the  pan  frying.  In  twenty  min- 
utes after  the  order  is  received  the  fighting  cock  that  was 
lustily  crowing  defiance  to  all  comers,  is  placed  sizzling  on 
a  plate  before  the  guest.  That's  how  it  is  done  in  Eio.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  in  tropical  climates  where  the  heat  is 
incessant,  whatever  creature  is  killed  for  human  food  has  to 
be  cooked  within  a  very  few  hours  thereafter  or  else  decom- 
position sets  in,  and  it  at  once  putrifies.  We  often  hear  the 
saying  "salt  won't  save  it,"  and  this  is  true  in  tropical  cli- 
mate. The  beef  that  is  slaughtered  during  the  night  must 
be  eaten  the  next  day. 

Our  first  dinner  in  Rio  consisted  of  fried  chicken,  green 
peas,  fried  potatoes,  salad  of  lettuce,  very  superior  bread, 
and  a  bottle  of  Madeira  wine.  After  which  we  had  coffee 
with  sweet  biscuits.  We  paid  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents — 
making  it  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  for  each  one.  The 
money  of  Brazil  is  reckoned  by  milreis,  but  we  had  no  difl&- 
culty  in  passing  our  American  coin,  without  being  obliged 
to  go  to  a  money  changer.  The  day  having  been  enjoyed  in 
sight  seeing,  we  all  met  at  the  jetty  at  6  p.  m.,  and  were  at 
once  surrounded  by  the  boatmen,  who  offered  to  take  us  on 
board  the  ship.  I  ashed  how  much  they  would  charge,  and 
they  answered  1,000  reis.  My  companions  protested  at  such 
an  excessive  price;  but  when  it  was  explained  that  it  was 
equal  to  one  dollar  of  American  money  they  became  quite 


94  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

satisfied,  and  one  of  them  remarked  that  1,000  reis  was  a 
very  small  sum  with  a  mighty  big  name.  When  we  arrived 
on  board  we  were  informed  that  Capt.  Blanchard  had  taken 
his  family  to  the  hotel  Pharoux,  where  he  had  engaged 
quarters,  but  before  he  left  the  ship  he  had  ordered  young 
Brainard  to  prepare  himself  and  leave  the  ship  for  good,  as 
he  looked  upon  him  as  an  intruder.  The  poor  young  fellow 
had  packed  up  such  clothes  as  he  had  retained  from  his 
father's  outfit,  and  had  been  sent  ashore  in  the  quarter  boat, 
while  the  captain,  with  his  wife  and  child,  had  gone  ashore 
in  his  gig.  We  were  all  shocked  at  hearing  what  had  taken 
place,  for  the  poor  youth  had  made  himself  liked  by  all  the 
passengers.  How  much  money  he  had  we  of  course  knew 
not,  but  supposed  that  he  had  taken  but  little  from  his 
father's  stock,  because  we  expected  to  go  around  Cape  Horn 
without  calling  at  any  port,  and  therefore  would  not  have 
any  use  for  money.  Besides  the  captain  and  his  family,  we 
learned  that  the  French  gentlemen  and  their  wives  had  gone 
ashore  to  lodge  with  their  country  people  while  the  ship 
should  be  in  port. 

The  next  morning,  when  we  went  ashore,  we  there  found 
young  Brainard  waiting  for  us.  He  then  told  us  that  on  the 
day  previous  the  captain  made  a  second  demand  for  all  his 
father's  papers,  and  upon  his  refusal  to  yield  them  up,  had 
given  a  peremptory  order  to  the  mate  to  "put  that  boy 
ashore."  Capt.  Blanchard  had  tried  to  practice  that  which 
the  Barons  of  old  knew  so  well  how  to  do: 

•*  The  good  old  way,  the  simple  plan, 
Let  him  take  who  has  the  power, 
And  let  him  keep  who  can." 

I  consoled  him  all  I  could,  and  volunteered  to  go  to  the 
American  Consul  with  him,  who,  no  doubt,  would  right  all 
his  wrongs.  We  called  upon  the  Consul,  who  proved  to  be 
a  corpulent,  inactive  man,  entirely  disinclined  to  listen  to 
the  story  of  the  young  fellow,  but  referred  him  to  his  clerk, 
who  proved  to  be  a  most  repulsive  and  a  most  insolent 
Englishman  from  the  Island  of  Jamaica.  A  more  forbid- 
ding representative  of  the  power  and  dignity  of  the  Ameri- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  95 

can  nation  I  never  saw  than  that  fellow  who  sat  in  his  office 
in  Kio  cie  Janeiro,  under  the  protection  of  the  American 
flag.  I  at  that  time  wondered  how  the  Secretary  of  State 
could  conscientiously  recommend  to  the  President  men  for 
consuls  and  even  embassadors  to  protect  and  advise  Ameri- 
can citizens  when  abroad,  men  that  are  entirely  unfitted  by 
talent  or  experience.  Is  it  proper  that  a  man  who  owns  a 
sawmill  in  Maine  and  has  influence  to  aid  Mr.  Morrill  from 
Sagadehoc  county  or  Lincoln  county  to  be  elected  to  Con- 
gress, that  he  should  be  rewarded  by  a  consular  appoint- 
ment? Not  at  all.  First  of  all  he  should  be  an  American 
in  heart  and  in  sentiment.  Next  he  should  be  a  shipping 
merchant  or  a  captain  that  is  familiar  with  consular  duties. 
If  this  is  done  we  will  have  good  consuls.  To  send  a  lum- 
bermill  politician  as  consul  to  an  important  port  like  Rio  de 
Janeiro  is  like  setting  up  a  lumber  mill  on  the  desert  of  Sa- 
hara. They  are  both  out  of  place,  and  therefore  of  no  use. 
Here  was  a  port  where  at  that  very  time  there  were  more 
than  thirty  American  vessels,  and  still  the  consular  business 
of  them  all  was  attended  to  by  a  foreigner.  In  the  darkest 
days  of  our  republic  the  great  Washington  said  to  his  gen- 
erals at  Valley  Forge:  "To-night  put  none  but  Americans 
on  guard."  A  grand  admonition.  And  to-day  the  people 
of  these  United  States  should  say  to  the  President:  Hence- 
forth put  none  but  Americans,  in  heart  and  in  sentiment,  in 
posts  of  honor  in  foreign  ports  to  represent  our  country. 
As  the  Consul's  clerk  gave  neither  comfort  nor  information 
to  the  young  fellow  we  were  obliged  to  withdraw  without 
having  accomplished  anything.  On  this  day  we  strolled 
around  the  city  and  took  observations,  as  we  say  at  sea.  I 
observed  that  all  the  streets  had  a  depression  from  the  side- 
walk to  the  center  of  the  street,  which  formed  the  gutter, 
down  which  the  water  ran  and  conveyed  the  dirt  down  to  the 
beach.  As  the  water  was  continually  running,  the  streets 
were  more  cleanly  than  one  would  expect. 

As  I  have  said,  the  streets  are  narrow  and  the  houses 
two  stories  high,  while  the  second  story  has  a  balcony  run- 
ning the  whole  length  of  its  frontage,  the  roof  of  the  house 


96  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

extending  over  the  balcony,  thereby  protecting  it  from  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  tropical  sun.  Here  many  of  the  ladies 
would  sit  at  their  sewing  or  crochet  work  and  at  the  same 
time  converse  with  their  opposite  neighbors  with  as  much 
ease  as  if  they  were  in  the  same  room,  as  the  quiet  of  the 
street  was  scarcely  ever  disturbed  by  a  passing  vehicle,  the 
porterage  being  all  done  by  Negro  slaves.  I  noticed  that 
the  retail  merchants  pursued  their  business  on  the  first  floor 
of  the  house  while  their  families  lived  on  the  second  floor, 
which  I  considered  a  most  convenient  style. 

When  we  returned  to  the  ship  at  night  we  sat  down  to  a 
supper  of  mutton  chops,  fried  plantains,  boiled  sweet  pota- 
toes and  hot  biscuits.  We  also  learned  that  the  captain  had 
given  orders  to  the  steward  not  to  use  any  salt  beef  or  pork 
while  in  port,  as  that  was  to  be  reserved  for  use  at  sea;  for 
all  salted  beef  and  pork  taken  on  board  at  Kio  had  to  be 
brought  from  the  United  States  or  from  England,  because 
it  is  impossible  to  cure  meat  in  tropical  climates.  Meat 
spoils  before  it  takes  the  salt. 

The  following  morning  being  the  twenty-third  day  of  De- 
cember, several  of  us  discussed  the  propriety  of  observing 
Christmas  Day  in  a  manner  befitting  its  importance.  Seven 
of  us  agreed  to  enjoy  a  grand  Christmas  dinner  on  shore.  A 
young  lawyer  named  Shorb,  from  Richmond,  Virginia,  and 
myself  were  chosen  to  engage  the  dinner.  When  we  arrived 
at  the  jetty  Shorb  and  myself  sallied  out  together  to  find  a 
suitable  place  where  to  have  our  feast.  W^e  went  to  several 
hotels  and  told  our  errand,  but  we  could  not  settle  on  a 
place  until  we  came  to  the  Hotel  do  Lisboa,  where  Cluff- 
water  and  myself  had  eaten  our  first  dinner  in  port.  We^ 
disclosed  our  mission  to  the  landlord  and  he  told  us  that  he 
would  serve  a  dinner  for  seven  persons  that  should  be  con- 
formable to  the  celebration  of  the  nativity  of  our  Lord  for 
the  sum  of  fourteen  dollars,  and  the  wine,  of  which  he  had 
a  large  stock  in  his  cellar,  should  be  so  much  per  bottle,  ac- 
cording to  kind.  I  suggested  Madeira.  He  said  that  wine 
would  be  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  bottle.  He  led  us 
up  stairs  and  showed  us  a  small  room  about  eight  by  ten 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  97 

feet  in  size,  which  was  quite  large  enough  for  our  purpose. 
We  paid  him  a  five  dollar  piece  in  advance  as  an  earnest  of 
our  bargain. 

After  having  arranged  our  business  we  walked  around 
the  city  and  viewed  many  of  the  stores,  which,  for  size  and 
display  of  goods,  did  not  compare  with  like  places  in  Phila- 
delphia. Everything  about  the  business  places  betokened  a 
quiet,  easy  way  of  doing  business.  The  streets  being  nar- 
row, left  no  room  for  shade  trees,  therefore  it  did  not  com- 
pare with  Philadelphia  when  we  left  on  the  fifth  of  October, 
when  the  principal  streets  were  shaded  by  umbrageous 
trees,  carriages  passing  to  and  fro,  and  many  other  signs  of 
animated  life. 

We  turned  our  steps  towards  the  beach  and  as  we  ap- 
proached near  the  palace  we  saw  coaches  approaching  the 
palace  yard  and  soon  counted  six  large  stage  coaches,  such 
as  were  daily  seen  leaving  Boston  for  the  outlying  towns. 
These  were  drawn  by  four  fine  horses  to  each  coach.  One 
coach,  the  last  one,  had  two  mounted  outriders.  This  coach 
was  occupied  by  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  Dom  Pedro  II,  and 
the  Empress.  On  the  box  sat  the  driver  and  a  lackey,  and 
on  the  rear  stood  two  footmen,  all  in  uniform.  As  there 
were  neither  policemen  nor  soldiers  to  interfere,  we  has- 
tened to  the  grand  entrance  to  the  palace  and  ranged  our- 
selves in  double  line  at  the  archway,  leaving  a  wide  space 
between  the  lines.  The  coaches  were  gaily  painted  in  yel- 
low and  gold  while  the  horses  were  richly  caparisoned.  Out 
of  the  five  coaches,  when  the  attendants  opened  the  doors, 
descended  a  number  of  gentlemen  dressed  in  plain  clothes, 
a  few  in  uniform,  and  some  in  cassocks,  who,  I  supposed, 
were  bishops.  These  gentlemen  formed  themselves  in  a 
double  line  after  their  coaches  had  been  driven  away.  Last 
of  all  the  Emperor's  coach  was  opened  and  I,  and  I  suppose 
many  others,  saw  a  real  live  Emperor  for  the  first  time. 
After  he  descended  he  turned  and  waited  upon  his  wife,  the 
same  as  any  real  gentleman  would  do.  Then  he  offered  the 
Empress  his  left  arm  while  in  his  right  he  held  his  chapeau. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  green,  close-buttoned  military  coat. 


98  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

black  breeches  with  gold  stripes  down  the  legs,  and  mili- 
tary boots.  He  did  not  wear  a  sword,  and  only  upon  his 
breast  he  wore  a  single  badge,  which  was  blazing  with  dia- 
monds. The  two  royal  personages  passed  between  the 
lines  of  gentlemen,  and  as  they  passed  the  first  two  they  also 
followed  the  royal  pair,  until  all  the  gentlemen  were  in  the 
royal  train.  When  the  royal  couple  reached  to  where  I  stood 
I  saw  before  me  as  fine  a  looking  gentleman  as  I  ever  saw  in 
my  life.  He  stood  all  of  six  feet  or  more,  was  admirably 
proportioned  and  looked  perfectly  grand.  The  Empress  was 
a  short,  pleasant-faced  blonde,  and  looked  diminutive  along- 
side of  her  imperial  husband.  They  walked  up  the  grand 
stairway  leading  to  the  grand  salon.  All  the  spectators  fol- 
lowed, but  by  the  time  that  I  reached  the  grand  chamber 
every  one  of  the  grand  cortege  had  disappeared,  having 
withdrawn  to  the  private  part  of  the  palace. 

When  I  withdrew  from  the  precincts  of  the  palace  and 
reflected  upon  all  I  had  seen  I  was  disappointed  beyond 
measure.  Here  1  had  seen  the  Emperor  of  a  great  nation 
return  from  his  country  seat  to  his  palace  with  his  courtiers 
and  retinue;  had  seen  him  descend  from  his  coach,  escort 
the  Empress  to  the  palace,  and  all  this  without  the  beat  of 
drums  or  blast  of  trumpets.  By  the  books  which  I  had 
read  in  school  I  was  led  to  expect  that  when  I  saw  a  real 
live  king  I  would  see  a  wonderful  man  in  ermine  cloak, 
golden  crown  on  his  head  and  a  jeweled  scepter  in  his  hand, 
while  every  one  in  view  would  throw  himself  upon  his  knees 
while  the  king  passed.  Bat  here  was  an  emperor,  more 
mighty  than  a  king,  who  entered  his  palace  without  the 
pomp  or  circumstance  supposed  to  attend  royalty.  Even 
more  simple  than  this  I  saw  in  Paris  afterwards,  when  Em- 
peror Louis  Napoleon  was  in  the  zenith  of  his  glory.  Early 
one  Sunday  afternoon  myself  and  companion  engaged  a 
cabriolet  to  take  us  to  the  Bois  de  Bologne,  so  that  we 
might  see  the  old  historic  mill,  the  grotto  and  other  curiosi- 
ties, as  well  as  to  pass  by  the  Arc.  de  Triomphe  on  our  way. 
As  we  were  passing  by  the  Palace  of  the  Tuilleries  we  saw  a 
barouche  drawn  by  a  fine  span  of  horses,  a  driver  sitting  on 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  99 

his  perch  and  a  footman  standing  on  the  rear,  while  in  the 
carriage  sat  a  gentleman  dressed  in  plain  black  suit  and  silk 
hat,  while  beside  him  sat  a  lady  in  a  traveling  suit  devoid  of 
any  bright  colors.  The  gates  were  opened  by  the  concierge 
and  the  vehicle  came  into  the  street.  As  it  turned  in  the 
same  direction  in  which  we  were  going,  our  driver  turned 
his  head  and  said,  sotto  voce,  **  cest  Vempereur."  Just  then 
the  few  persons  on  the  sidewalk  raised  their  hats  and  cried 
out,  "Vive  Vempereur!''  at  which  the  gentleman  raised  his 
hat  and  the  lady  made  a  very  gracious  bow.  The  driver 
afterwards  told  us  that  their  majesties  were  on  their  way  to 
the  depot  to  take  a  special  train  for  the  Bois  de  Vincennes, 
where  a  horse-race  was  to  take  place.  Now  I  feel  convinced 
that  very  much  that  we  learn  from  school-books  we  find  in 
after  life  to  have  been  highly  colored  and  much  of  it  en- 
tirely unnatural. 

When  we  returned  to  the  ship  that  night  I  related  to  Mr. 
Bryson  all  that  I  had  seen,  and  he  said  he  had  seen  the 
King  of  Portugal,  the  King  of  Belgium  and  the  King  of 
Sweden;  "but,"  said  he,  "what  do  they  amount  to  com- 
pared with  General  Jackson,  the  hero  of  New  Orleans  ?  He 
was  a  great  soldier  and  afterwards  a  good  President." 

We  arranged  among  the  seven  of  us  that  each  one  should 
take  some  part  in  the  literary  exercises  of  the  Christmas  din- 
ner, and  to  me  was  assigned  that  of  poet  of  the  occasion,  as 
I  had  already  composed  some  rhymes  during  the  voyage. 
For  this  reason  I  staid  on  board  all  day  on  the  24th.  About 
ten  o'clock  Capt.  Blanchard  came  on  board,  and  after  having 
examined  what  was  being  done  on  board  of  the  ship,  had 
sounded  the  pumps,  and  ordered  his  gig  to  return  on  shore. 
As  he  reached  the  break  of  the  quarter-deck  to  go  over  the 
gangway  he  said  to  the  mate  in  an  imperious  manner,  "  Mr. 
Cranston,  keep  these  landlubbers  busy;  make  them  work, 
for  there  is  not  an  able  seaman  amongst  the  whole  lot. "  As 
he  said  this  a  sailor  named  Tom  Harrold  spoke,  saying, 
"  Captain,  I  am  an  able  seaman,  and  not  a  job  has  been  put 
in  my  hands  on  this  ship  that  I  didn't  do  in  a  seamanlike 
manner."     Tom  was  standing  by  the  after  main  shrouds, 


100  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

seizing  on  the  sheerpole,  and  as  lie  said  this  Capt.  Blanchard 
grabbed  him  by  the  bosom  of  his  shirt.  No  quicker  said 
than  done.  Tom  dropped  his  work  and  grasped  the  captain 
by  his  immaculate  white  vest  and  beautiful  white  shirt  with 
his  tarry  right  hand.  The  captain's  face  became  livid.  I 
think  a  tiger  could  not  have  looked  more  ferocious.  He 
looked  Tom  right  in  the  eyes;  but  Tom's  gray  eyes  never 
quailed.  After  a  minute  the  captain,  seeing  the  cool  man- 
ner and  fearless  eyes  of  Tom,  loosed  his  hold,  and  then  Tom 
dropped  his  grip.  "Go  forward,  sirrah,"  hissed  the  cap- 
tain. Tom  gave  him  a  derisive  smile,  turned  and  went  for- 
ward. Poor  Mr.  Cranston  said  not  a  word,  for  he  was  never 
made  for  a  fighting  man,  and  as  to  Mr.  Bryson,  I  think  his 
sympathy  was  with  Tom,  for  he  was  the  best  man  he  had  in 
his  watch.  The  captain  then  ordered  the  mate  to  go  to  the 
guard-ship  and  demand  the  arrest  of  the  mutinous  sailor. 
The  mate  jumped  into  the  gig  with  two  men  and  rowed  to 
the  guard-ship,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  the  guard-boat,  with 
six  men  and  an  officer  with  sword  by  his  side,  came  along- 
side. The  captain  received  the  officer  and  explained  the 
trouble  to  him.  The  officer  called  up  the  four  marines,  and 
with  their  short  muskets  marched  forward  and  arrested  poor 
Tom.  They  allowed  him  to  take  his  mookey-jacket  and  a 
few  plugs  of  chewing  tobacco  to  solace  him  in  his  confine- 
ment. After  the  prisoner  had  been  taken  away  the  captain 
changed  his  rumpled  shirt  and  vest  and  went  ashore.  After 
this  we  all  breathed  freer  and  all  felt  glad  to  fee  left  to  our- 
selves. 

I  devoted  the  whole  day  to  the  composition  of  my  part 
to  be  road  at  our  Christmas  dinner.  In  the  evening  the 
mate  told  me  that  it  was  probable  that  there  would  be  a  sur- 
vey held  on  the  ship,  and  that  it  was  supposed  that  the  ship 
would  be  ordered  under  repairs  as  she  was  not  in  a  proper 
condition  to  proceed  on  the  voyage.  She  would  have  to  be 
taken  up  to  the  upper  harbor,  where  the  wharves  were,  dis- 
charged and  hove  down  to  calk  the  bottom,  as  there  was  no 
graving  dock  in  Rio.  A  ship,  when  she  is  empty,  is  easily 
hove  down  until  her  garboard  streak  is  out  of  the  water,  and 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  101 

then  a  floating  stage  is  hauled  alongside  and  the  bottom  is 
calked,  payed  and  painted.  The  mate  said  this  would  prob- 
ably take  three  months'  time.  This  was  a  very  discouraging 
outlook,  but  we  had  to  grin  and  bear  it. 

The  next  morniDg  ushered  in  Christmas  Day.  Early  in 
the  morning  the  joyful  sounds  of  bells  from  the  very  numer- 
ous churches  on  shore  floated  over  the  water  in  sweet  melo- 
dious strains  and  struck  upon  our  ears  in  sweet,  diminished 
cadence.  We  felt  glad  to  know  that  we  were  in  a  Christian 
land.  On  this  day  was  the  Redeemer  of  mankind  born  in 
Bethlehem  of  Judea.  On  this  day  were  the  humble  shep- 
herds on  the  plains  of  Judea  advised  by  the  heavenly  angels 
of  the  birth  of  the  Redeemer  of  mankind. 

We  arrayed  ourselves  in  our  Sunday  go-to-meeting  best, 
and  after  breakfast  we  went  ashore.  As  we  passed  the 
guard-ship  we  saw  poor  Tom  on  deck.  He  waived  his  hand 
in  salutation  and  we  all  heartily  responded.  But  we  felt 
that  we  had  our  hands  in  the  lion's  mouth,  and  dared  not 
interfere  in  his  behalf,  for  if  we  incurred  the  captain's  enmity 
we  trembled  for  the  consequences.  After  landing  at  the 
jetty  everybody  we  met  was  arrayed  in  gay  attire.  The  large 
stores  were  all  closed  and  there  were  tokens  on  all  sides  that 
it  was  a  grand  holiday.  At  ten  o'clock  the  grand  mass  was 
celebrated  in  all  the  churches,  notably  in  the  Emperor's 
chapel.  Although  a  large  edifice,  yet  it  was  not  large  enough 
to  accommodate  all  that  desired  to  enter.  Nevertheless  in  a 
city  containing  more  than  fifty  churches  it  was  not  difficult 
to  gain  entrance  into  one  of  them. 

In  the  afternoon,  as  is  the  usual  custom  on  grand  holi- 
days, there  was  a  bull-fight  in  the  amphitheater  devoted  to 
such  exhibitions.  One  bull  at  a  time  was  let  into  the  arena, 
then  the  bandalier  would  approach  him  with  a  red  cloth  or 
guidon,  which  he  swung  before  the  bull,  thereby  illustrating 
the  old  adage  of  "shaking  a  red  rag  before  a  mad  bull." 
At  this  the  bull  would  make  a  rush  at  the  man  and  the  ex- 
pert bull-fighter  would  quickly  move  to  one  side  and  away 
went  the  bull  with  his  head  down  and  his  tail  up,  which 
caused  roars  of   laughter.     Then  came  the  spadores  with 


102  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

small  barbed  lances  decorated  with  particolored  paper.  The 
lance  had  a  barbed  point,  which  penetrated  the  hide  suffi- 
cient for  the  barb  to  hold  by  and  nothing  more,  and  when- 
ever the  spadore  succeeded  in  darting  one  into  the  bull's 
hide  he  was  applauded  to  the  echo,  for  be  it  remembered 
that  the  bull  wasn't  idle  while  this  was  going  on,  and  had 
he  caught  his  tormentor  he  would  perhaps  have  hurt  him 
some,  but  the  tips  of  the  bull's  horns  were  inclosed  in  some 
sort  of  buffers.  There  were  several  bulls  brought  in  one 
after  the  other,  but  no  injury  was  inflicted  on  man  or  beast. 

Now  I  will  here  say  that  I  have  read  mauy  diatribes  writ- 
ten by  well  meaning  humanitarians,  all  denouncing  the  prac- 
tice of  bull  fights.  As  to  this  I  have  nothing  to  say  iu  de- 
fense of  bull  fighting  for  I  do  not  approve  of  it,  but  how 
immeasurably  worse  is  the  horrible  practice  of  man  fight- 
ing. Among  these  people  bull  fighting  is  fostered  by  the 
government,  and  therefore  they  are  to  the  manor  born.  But 
the  English  speaking  people  are  more  highly  educated,  and 
as  Pope  says  "'tis  education  forms  the  common  mind," 
and  for  that  reason  more  is  expected  from  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  Americans  train  men  to  enter  the  prize  ring 
and  fight  for  a  purse  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Where  are 
our  learned,  eloquent  preachers  that  they  allow  such  brutal 
practices  without  raising  their  voice  in  condemnation  of 
such  brutal  pastimes,  so  demoralizing  to  men  and  so  evil 
teaching  to  boys  ?  They  stand  m  the  pulpit  on  a  Sunday 
and  they  turn  their  mental  spyglass  towards  countries  that 
encourage  bull  fights  and  lotteries — which,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted, are  injurious  to  the  morals  of  the  people — but  they 
are  a  mere  bagatelle  compared  with  prize  fighting.  As  our 
Divine  exampler  has  said:  "Thou  hypocrite,  cast  out  first 
the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye,  and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly 
to  pull  out  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye. 

The  American  spectators  left  the  Plaza  do  Toros  very 
much  dissatisfied  with  the  performance,  because  there  was 
neither  a  bull  killed  nor  a  man  gored.  They  said  it  was  too 
tame. 

We  had  agreed  to  be  at  the  Hotel  do  Lisboa  at  6  o'clock, 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  103 

and  accordingly  we  wended  our  way  to  that  place,  where  we 
arrived  at  half-past  six.  When  we  arrived  and  entered  the 
grand  dining-room  the  landlord  greeted  us  in  a  very  friendly 
manner,  and  directed  one  of  the  waiters  to  guide  us  upstairs 
to  the  banquet  room.  We  were  escorted  up  a  flight  of  spiral 
iron  stairs  that  led  up  from  the  rear  part  of  the  first  floor. 
Some  of  my  companions  asked  if  we  would  be  obliged  to 
come  down  the  same  way.  When  I  asked  the  waiter  he 
laughed  heartily,  and  told  us  that  the  broad  stairway  led 
down  the  front  into  the  street.  This  explanation  satisfied 
my  friends,  and  we  wended  our  way  to  the  little  room  that 
had  been  prepared  for  us.  Here  we  found  a  well  prepared 
table,  in  the  center  of  which  was  placed  an  immense  cande- 
labra, holding  twelve  wax  candles,  which  lighted  the  room 
with  a  soft  mellow  radiance.  There  were  plates  for  seven 
persons,  with  the  usual  paraphernalia  of  a  well  appointed 
table.  After  we  were  seated  the  master  of  ceremonies  de- 
livered the  following  Scotch  introductory  to  the  feast: 

"  Some  have  meat  who  canna  eat. 
Some  have  na  meat  to  eat  it; 
But  we  have  meat  and  we  can  eat; 
So  let  the  Lord  be  thank  it." 

Our  first  dish  was  prawns — which  are  a  specie  of  very  large 
shrimps,  which  are  quite  common  in  New  Orleans  and  Mo- 
bile as  well  as  in  Rio;  these  had  been  freed  from  the  shell 
and  seasoned  with  shallots  vinegar  and  sweet  oil.  They 
were  fine  and  supposed  to  increase  the  appetite.  The  next 
was  vegetable  soup;  then  fish — resembling  in  size  the  large 
Labradore  herring — these  were  fried  in  oil.  Then  we  had 
two  roast  chickens  stuffed  with  Italian  chestnuts — these 
were  very  fine.  My  companions  had  never  before  eaten 
such  a  dish,  and  they  were  delighted.  Then  a  dish  that  we 
asked  the  waiter  the  name  of.  He  said  it  was  puchara.  It 
was  made  of  mutton,  leeks,  peas,  carrots,  and  potatoes,  and 
seasoned  with  green  peppers.  It  was  very  piquant  and  very 
palatable.  Then  we  had  plantains  fried  in  butter.  After 
these  substantials  had  been  disposed  of  and  washed  down 
with  copious  draughts  of  Madeira  wine,  the  waiter  cleared 


104  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

the  table  and  brought  dishes  of  almonds,  walnuts,  raisins 
and  Brazil  nuts,  besides  some  sweet  biscuits  and  more  fresh 
bread,  after  which  the  waiter  brought  seven  more  bottles  of 
wine,  and  then  withdrew.  We  were  now  just  entering  into 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  The  toast  master  arose  and  an- 
nounced: My  friends:  "  The  day  we  celebrate,  Christmas." 
Drank  standing.  As  by  previous  arrangement  this  was  re- 
sponded to  by  Mr.  Shorb,  the  young  Virginia  lawyer,  as 
follows: 

"My  friends,  the  very  name  of  Christmas  brings  a  flood 
of  recollection  to  my  mind  that  causes  tears  of  fond  remem- 
brance to  sufiuse  my  eyes.  I  can  picture  in  my  mind  the  old 
plantation  in  Virginia  where  I  first  saw  the  light  of  day,  the 
roomy  mansion,  the  large  capacious  rooms,  the  ample  hearth 
with  the  yule  log,  which  was  placed  therein  on  Christmas 
eve.  My  venerable  father  in  his  big  chair  on  one  side  of 
the  fireplace,  and  my  darling  mother  in  her  cushioned  rock- 
ing-chair on  the  other  side,  while  we  children  sat  in  a  semi- 
circle facing  the  cheerful  fire  on  the  hearth,  while  father  told 
us  the  stories  of  olden  times  of  Christmas.  When  Christ- 
mas eve  arrived  all  the  field  hands  on  my  father's  plantation 
were  given  a  complete  exemption  from  labor,  only  being  re- 
quired to  feed  and  care  for  the  stock  during  the  holidays, 
which  extended  from  Christmas  eve  until  the  day  after  New 
Tear's  day.  The  hands  were  allowed  to  visit  their  friends 
on  the  neighboring  plantations  and  to  receive  visitors  during 
the  day.  In  the  evening  my  father  would  call  into  the  house 
the  fiddler  and  the  banjo  player — for  there  was  no  plantation 
in  Virginia  without  its  musicians — and  they  would  play  and 
sing  old  plantation  melodies,  interspersed  with  religious 
Methodist  hymns — for  the  negroes  of  Virginia  are  religious 
and  their  religion  runs  into  sacred  song  just  as  naturally  as 
a  mountain  rivulet  runs  into  its  neighboring  creek.  During 
the  evening  the  pitcher  of  cider  was  passed  around,  and  oc- 
casionally my  father  would  send  a  servant  into  the  cellar  to 
bring  up  a  bottle  of  old  peach  brandy,  which  was  passed 
among  the  men  in  moderate  quantities.  The  Christmas  day 
service  at  the  little  country  church  was  more  simple  than 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  105 

that  which  we  beheld  to-day,  but  none  the  less  sincere,  and 
I  trust  none  the  less  acceptable  to  our  heavenly  Father.  For 
has  He  not  said  *  Where  two  or  three  meet  together  and  that 
in  my  name  there  will  I  be  in  the  midst  of  them.'  After 
the  service  we  would  all  return  home,  there  would  be  a  table 
set  that  would  be  impossible  to  describe — turkey,  chicken, 
venison;  and,  not  forgetting  the  staple  Virginia  dish,  hog 
and  hominy.  Thus  was  celebrated  the  Christmas  in  old  Vir- 
ginia, and  I  here  express  the  hope  that  all  here  present  may 
reproduce  this  picture,  some  future  day,  in  the  bosom  of 
their  own  family  and  around  their  own  fireside." 
This  was  followed  by  the  song : 

"  Cany  me  back  to  old  Virginia, 
To  old  Virginia's  shore." 

The  next  toast:  "The  President  of  the  United  States." 
Drank  standing.  This  was  responded  to  by  a  young  man 
named  Kockefeller,  from  Columbia  county.  New  York,  as 
follows: 

"My  friends,  I  little  thought  last  Christmas  when  I  par- 
ticipated in  the  festivities  of  the  season  at  my  father's  house 
in  Smoky  Hollow,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  city  of  Hudson, 
that  one  year  from  that  time  I  would  be  thousands  of  miles 
away  from  my  native  land,  in  a  country  ruled  over  by  an 
Emperor.  But  such  are  the  vicissitudes  in  man's  earthly  ca- 
reer. The  young  bird,  when  he  is  full  fledged,  has  to  leave 
the  parent  nest,  and  by  the  same  rule  of  nature  the  boy, 
when  grown,  has  to  leave  the  parental  roof  and  strike  out 
for  himself,  and  by  that  rule  we  are  all  of  us  here  to-day. 
I  was  born  but  a  few  miles  from  Kinderhook,  the  home  of 
ex-President  Van  Bureu,  and  often  have  seen  that  honored 
gentleman  after  he  had  retired  from  public  life.  My  father 
would  say  to  me :  '  My  boy,  when  you  see  Martin  Van  Bu- 
ren  you  are  in  the  presence  of  a  man  who,  during  his  presi- 
dency, was  greater  than  any  potentate  on  earth,  for  he  was 
the  acknowledged  head  of  a  great  and  powerful  nation.  He 
was  placed  there  by  the  voice  of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  saw 
in  him  the  qualities  of  a  wise  and  good  ruler,  and  when  the 
constitutional  limit  of  his  rule  was  reached  he  withdrew  to 


106  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

this,  his  rural  home,  to  pass  his  days  in  quiet  contentment 
among  his  old  neighbors,  who  look  upon  him  as  one  of  them- 
selves. My  boy,  this  country  changes  rulers  without  any 
convulsion,  or  war  of  claimants,  as  in  monarchical  countries, 
for  here  everything  is  done  according  to  law  under  the  Con- 
stitution.' My  friends,  this  is  the  first  country  that  I  have 
ever  been  in  that  is  ruled  by  a  monarch,  and  I  must  say  that 
the  people  seem  contented  and  happy,  but  I  learn  from  his- 
tory that  every  country  that  is  ruled  by  a  monarch  may  be 
likened  to  a  beautiful  land  under  which  is  hidden  a  burning 
volcano,  that  is  liable  to  break  out  at  any  moment,  scattering 
death  and  desolation  in  its  track.  As  for  myself  I  will  here 
say  of  my  country,  in  the  words  of  the  poet: 

"  Where'er  I  roam,  wliat'er  my  lot  may  be, 
My  heart  untraveled  fondly  turns  to  thee." 

Song: 

"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty. 
Of  thee  I  sing." 

The  next  in  order  was  the  poem  of  the  evening  which 
had  been  assigned  me  to  write.  I  arose  and  recited  the  fol- 
lowing lines  on  wine: 

WINE. 

Preachers  may  preach  and  teachers  teach, 
Of  the  evil  effects  of  drink; 
Yet  'tis  music  sweet,  to  a  man  of  wit. 
To  hear  the  glasses  clink. 

There's  Webster  and  Clay — 

Now  in  their  day,  this  nation's  afifairs  do  guide, 

At  eleven  a.  m.  each  day  are  seen 

With  bottles  by  their  side. 

Say  what  you  will,  argue  with  skill, 
'Tis  true  beyond  a  doubt, 
Sparkling  wine  is  a  gift  divine. 
Life  would  be  dull  without. 

My  composition  was  received  with  great  favor,  and  as 
they  were  ready  to  drink  toasts  they  drank  to  the  poem  of 
the  evening. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  107 

The  evening  was  advancing  apace,  and  as  no  boats  were 
allowed  to  pass  around  the  harbor  unchallenged  after  twelve 
o'clock,  midnight,  we  prepared  to  start  for  the  beach.  We 
summoned  the  waiter  and  asked  for  our  bill.  He  soon  re- 
turned and  placed  the  bill  upon  the  table.  Oh!  horror!  our 
bill  was  thirty-five  dollars.     I  thought  of  the  old  couplet: 

"  We  laugli  loud  and  gay  till  the  feast  is  o'er, 
But  when  the  bill  comes  in  we  laugh  no  more." 

We  had  made  our  calculations  for  the  price  of  the  din- 
ner and  for  seven  bottles  of  wine.  But  here  we  were— we 
had  found  the  wine  so  seductive  that  unconsciously  we  had 
imbibed  double  our  allotted  quantity;  therefore  our  dinner 
bill,  added  to  what  we  had  expended  during  the  day,  ex- 
ceeded our  money  on  hand.  In  this  quandary  we  called  for 
another  bottle  of  wine,  and  told  the  waiter  that  we  invited 
the  landlord  to  drink  to  the  El  Natale,  with  us.  The  land- 
lord soon  appeared,  and  nothing  loth,  drank  with  us.  We 
then  explained  to  him  that  our  bill — with  the  bottle  just 
consumed  added — was  thirty-six  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  and 
deducting  the  five  dollars  which  we  had  paid  in  advance, 
left  a  balance  of  thirty-one  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  We  told 
him  that  we  had  among  us  twenty-nine  dollars,  and  that  it 
might  take  two  dollars  to  pay  the  boatmen  to  take  us  on 
board  the  ship;  therefore,  if  he  would  accept  the  twenty- 
seven  dollars  we  would  make  up  the  balance  by  our  patron- 
age while  we  were  in  port.  The  good  man  readily  accepted 
the  money,  and  showed  his  good  will  by  inviting  us  to  take 
another  bottle  of  wine  with  him,  which  we  accepted.  We 
then  started  for  the  street  by  the  broad  stairway.  As  we 
sallied  forth  from  the  house  and  began  to  breathe  the  fresh 
night  air  the  fumes  of  the  wine  began  to  rise  into  our  heads, 
and  some  of  my  companions  became  quite  hilarious.  The 
singing  mood  came  upon  them,  and  they  began  the  then 
common  song: 

"  We  won't  go  home  till  morning. 
We  won't  go  home  till  morning, 
We  won't  go  home  till  morning, 
Till  daylight  doth  appear." 


108  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

We  found  that  there  were  others  in  the  narrow  streets 
celebrating  like  ourselves,  and  I  began  to  feel  apprehensive 
of  some  trouble.  However,  we  reached  the  jetty  after  hav- 
ing been  admonished  by  two  policemen  not  to  be  so  noisy. 
I  told  them  that  we  were  celebrating  El  Natale,  and  were 
on  our  way  to  the  ship.  When  we  arrived  at  the  jetty  we 
found  only  two  boats  there,  and  we  were  obliged  to  pay  out 
the  two  dollars  which  the  landlord  had  allowed  us  to  retain, 
to  take  us  to  the  ship.  After  we  had  embarked  I  began  to 
breathe  easy,  for  I  had  dreaded  some  trouble,  because,  as 
the  old  adage  has  it:  "  When  wine  is  in,  wit  is  out."  As 
we  pulled  by  the  guard  ship  we  were  challenged,  and  the 
boatmen  gave  the  proper  response,  and  we  were  allowed  to 
proceed.  As  soon  as  we  had  passed  the  guard  ship  my  com- 
panions began  to  sing,  in  an  uproarious  voice,  a  song  that 
was  then  in  vogue — which  had  been  composed  after  the  bat- 
tle of  New  Orleans,  where  General  Jackson,  with  his  un- 
trained American  troops  but  few  in  number,  had  defeated 
General  Packenham  with  his  well  trained  English  troops, 
fresh  from  victories  over  the  French  troops  that  they  had 
driven  from  the  Peninsular  of  Portugal  and  Spain. 

The  song  ran  thus: 

"  One  Frencliman  whip  two  Portuguees, 
One  Englishman  he'll  whip  all  three, 
One  Yankee'll  whip  all  four,  you  see! 
And  that's  the  way  we  do. 

Choktjs. 
And  that's  the  way  we  do, 
And  that's  the  way  we  do, 
And  that's  the  way  we  do, 
And  play  the  banjo  too. 

Their  boldness  brought  to  my  mind  the  words  of  Burns : 

"  Inspiring  John  Barleycorn, 
What  dangers  thou  dost  make  us  scorn; 
"With  tupenny  worth  we  fear  no  evil, 
With  usquebaugh  we'll  face  the  devil." 

However,  as  our  Portuguese  boatman  didn't  understand  a 
single  word  of  this,  therefore  their  national  pride  was  not 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  109 

wounded.  Well,  we  arrived  on  board  our  ship  about  twelve 
o'clock,  midnight;  the  man  on  the  anchor  watch  helped  all 
hands  aboard,  and  after  a  jolly  Christmas  day  in  1849,  we 
were  glad  to  retire  to  our  berths  for  the  night.  When  we 
went  ashore  the  following  morning  we  learned  that  a  brother 
of  young  Brainard  had  arrived  in  port.  I  was  exceedingly 
glad  to  hear  this  news,  for  the  youth  had  told  me  that  his 
brother  had  sailed  from  New  York  in  a  hermaphrodite  brig 
as  second  mate,  bound  to  Para,  Brazil,  and  knowing  the 
desolate  condition  of  the  young  fellow  I  was  glad  to  hear 
that  a  person  in  interest  who  had  a  right  to  look  into  the 
matter  had  arrived  in  port.  On  this  I  strolled  off  alone  and 
viewed  some  of  the  numerous  churches  with  which  Rio 
abounds.  The  exterior  is  not  grand,  yet  they  show  consider- 
able taste;  but  f(ir  solidity  of  build  they  excel  anything  of 
the  kind  in  the  United  States;  they  looked  as  if  they  were 
built  to  defy  the  ravages  of  time.  It  was  evident  to  me  that 
the  city  had  been  built  by  a  people  more  active  and  energetic 
than  those  that  we  met  daily — for  the  native  Brazilians  are 
languid  and  inactive,  and  not  to  be  compared  with  their  Por- 
tuguese progenitors.  The  city  looked  to  me  as  though  it 
was  completed — that  all  that  ever  had  been  contemplated  was 
finished.  I  didn't  see  a  house  in  course  of  construction  nor 
any  new  enterprise  being  carried  out.  I  attributed  this  to 
the  enervating  effects  of  the  tropical  climate,  for  there  are  no 
more  industrious  and  plodding  people  than  the  inhabitants 
of  old  Portugal. 

About  one  o'clock  I  became  hungry,  and  as  the  cost  of 
the  dinner  of  the  day  before  had  made  quite  an  inroad  into 
my  cash,  I  had  to  look  about  as  to  where  I  could  satisfy  my 
appetite  at  the  smallest  cost.  As  I  was  passing  one  of  the 
squares  I  saw  a  modest  little  grocery,  in  the  window  of  which 
was  a  large  platter  heaping  full  of  fried  fish,  resembling 
large  herring,  and  a  number  of  rolls  of  fresh  bread.  I  step- 
ped inside  and  asked  the  attendant  how  he  sold  the  fish.  He 
looked  at  me  in  astonishment,  but  told  me  that  the  price  was 
ten  reis  apiece — equal  to  one  cent  American  money.  I  asked 
how  much  per  roll  for  the  bread  ?     He  said  fifty  reis — equal 


110  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

to  five  cents  of  American  money.  I  bought  five  fishes  and 
one  loaf  of  bread,  and  asked  permission  to  step  behind  a 
lot  of  boxes  to  eat  them.  He  granted  my  request,  and  I  ate 
the  fish  and  the  bread  and  drank  a  big  draught  of  pure 
mountain  water,  and  when  I  had  finished  my  humble  repast 
I  felt  as  well  satisfied  as  if  I  had  feasted  on  turkey  and 
champagne.  After  having  passed  the  day  in  sight-seeing  I 
returned,  about  five  o'clock,  to  the  jetty,  when  I  heard  the 
news  of  a  sad  and  tragical  event. 

As  I  have  said  before,  there  was  a  ship-chandler  store 
facing  the  harbor,  just  below  the  Hotel  Pharoux,  conducted 
by  an  American,  and  resorted  to  by  all  new  arrivals  to  hear 
the  latest  news  from  the  United  States.  Among  others, 
Capt.  Blanchard  made  daily  calls  at  this  place.  It  seems 
that  young  Brainard,  when  he  met  his  brother,  had  recounted 
to  him  the  melancholy  affair  of  the  serious  wound  inflicted 
upon  their  father,  who,  for  that  reason,  had  to  be  taken 
ashore,  and  how  he,  by  the  intervention  of  the  pilot,  had 
been  allowed  to  take  his  father's  place;  how  the  captain  had, 
on  the  voyage,  demanded  all  the  papers  that  concerned  his 
father's  consignment  on  board  the  ship,  and  because  he  had 
declined  to  yield  to  the  captain's  unjust  demand,  he  had 
thrown  him  ashore  among  strangers.  This  account  of  the 
misfortune  of  his  dear  father  and  his  brother,  combined 
with  the  fact  that  he  himself  had  been  left  in  the  hospital  at 
Para  suffering  from  tropical  fever,  excited  the  young  man 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  became  frantic  with  grief  and  anger. 
The  day  after  his  arrival  in  Rio  the  elder  Brainard,  accom- 
panied by  his  younger  brother,  waited  around  the  ship- 
chandler's  until  the  captain  should  make  his  appearance. 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  captain  strolled  into 
the  store,  and  the  lad  pointed  him  out  to  his  brother.  Brain- 
ard told  the  captain  who  he  was,  and  pointed  to  his  brother, 
who  was  at  the  door,  to  confirm  his  identity.  Capt.  Blan- 
chard replied,  "that  if  he  had  any  complaint  to  make  as  to 
the  legality  of  his  action  he  must  lay  the  same  before  the 
American  consul.  But,  if  he  had  any  personal  grievance  he 
could  step  out  of  the  store  and  he  could  right  it,  there  and 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  Ill 

then."  The  young  man  walked  from  the  back  part  of  the 
long  store,  followed  by  the  captain.  As  the  young  man  step- 
ped over  the  threshbold  he  turned  to  face  the  captain,  when 
the  latter  drew  back  his  right  arm  and  let  fly  a  terrific  blow 
at  Brainard's  face.  The  young  man  ducked  his  head  just  in 
time  to  escape  the  blow  that  would  have  laid  him  "hors  de 
combat."  The  failure  of  the  captain  to  reach  young  Brain- 
ard  had  caused  him  to  waste  his  strength  on  the  desert  air. 
The  momentum  of  his  fist  was  so  great  that  it  caused  his 
body  to  sway  forward,  and  at  that  moment  young  Brainard, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  pulled  his  sheath  knife  and 
plunged  it  into  the  breast  of  the  captain.  The  captain  ex- 
claimed, "I  am  killed!  "  and  fell  back  into  the  arms  of  a  per- 
son who  had  hurried  from  the  rear  of  the  store.  He  was  at 
once  taken,  by  those  who  gathered  around  him,  and  carried 
most  tenderly  to  his  rooms  in  the  hotel,  where  his  grief- 
stricken  wife  met  him  with  loud  screams  of  terror.  Doctors 
were  at  once  summoned,  who  took  charge  of  the  wounded 
man.  In  the  meantime  the  two  brothers  stood  right  still  at 
the  scene  of  the  tragedy  until  the  police  arrived,  to  whom 
they  were  pointed  out,  and  were  at  once  taken  to  jail. 

It  being  now  after  six  o'clock,  I  felt  that  it  would  be  use- 
less to  go  to  the  jail  to  interview  the  brothers,  therefore  I 
joined  my  fellow  passengers  and  went  on  board  the  ship. 
At  the  supper  table,  at  which  the  chief  mate  presided, 
scarcely  a  word  was  said  about  the  dreadful  affair,  all  being 
apprehensive  that  an  expression  of  opinion  might  prove  pre- 
judical  to  their  own  well  being;  feeling  that  a  very  long  voy- 
age was  yet  before  us,  and  not  knowing  how  affairs  might 
turn  out,  I  resolved  in  my  mind  that  hit  or  miss  I  would  es- 
pouse the  cause  of  the  two  young  fellows,  so  far  as  to  see 
that  they  should  secure  fair  treatment.  To  apply  to  the 
consul  I  knew  would  be  of  no  use;  as  I  before  said,  he  was 
a  nonentity.  While  strolling  around  the  city  I  had  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  Hollander  who  had  a  furniture-making 
shop  where  he  made  chairs,  tables,  and  such  like  in  the  front 
part,  and  had  living  rooms  for  himself  and  his  family  in  the 
rear  part.     I  had  found  him  a  very  friendly  man,  and  he  had 


112  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

told  me  mucli  about  the  Brazilians  and  their  mode  of  life. 
He  said  they  were  a  simple-minded  and  kind-hearted  peo- 
ple, indolent  and  confiding,  and  if  a  man  once  won  their 
good  will  they  were  his  friends  through  thick  and  thin.  As 
to  himself  and  his  wife,  they  found  no  congenial  company 
among  the  natives,  as  they  differed  in  their  habits  of  life 
and  in  their  religion.  He  and  his  wife  had  resolved,  when 
their  circumstances  would  permit,  which  would  be  in  a  short 
time,  to  return  with  their  children  to  their  fatherland  to 
spend  the  evening  of  their  life  among  the  scenes  of  their 
childhood.  To  this  good  man  I  resolved  to  apply  in  the 
emergency  for  advise  and  guidance.  I  kept  my  own  counsel 
and  retired  to  my  berth.  The  next  morning  I  arose,  shaved 
myself,  and  dressed  myself  scrupulously  neat,  and  after 
breakfast  I  went  ashore  with  my  fellow  passengers.  We 
went  to  the  hotel  and  inquired  about  the  captain.  We  were 
informed  that  he  was  very  low,  indeed,  as  the  knife  had  pen- 
etrated to  very  near  his  heart.  The  two  doctors  in  attend- 
ance had  said  that  it  was  a  most  miraculous  escape  from 
instant  death.  They  said  that  if  the  fresh  sea  breeze  would 
blow  every  day,  that,  with  good  nursing,  might  bring  him 
around  again;  but  if  the  winds  went  down  and  the  summer 
heat  set  in,  that  would  cause  fever  to  supervene,  in  which 
event  he  would  have  no  chance  for  recovery.  Above  all 
things  they  ordered  absolute  quiet  for  the  patient,  that  no 
one  should  approach  his  bed  but  his  wife  and  attendant. 
After  receiving  this  news  I  immediately  slipped  out  by  my- 
self and  inquired  my  way  to  the  jail.  When  I  arrived  at 
the  somber  looking  place  I  approached  the  iron  gate  and 
begged  the  gatekeeper  to  allow  me  to  speak  to  the  jailer. 
He  called  out  to  his  mate  and  desired  him  to  call  the  jailer. 
In  a  minute  or  two  the  jailer,  in  his  uniform,  came  to  the 
gate,  and  the  gatekeeper  pointed  to  me,  and  said  something 
to  him.  He  then  approached  the  iron  barricade,  and  as  he 
did  so,  I  made  a  profound  bow,  and  when  I  told  him  my 
business  there,  he  directed  the  gatekeeper  to  let  me  in. 
When  I  was  admitted  I  at  once  proceeded  to  inform  him 
about  the  affair  of  the  youngest  of  the  two  prisoners,  and 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  113 

what  misfortunes  he  had  suffered  from  the  very  first  day  that 
the  ship  had  left  Philadelphia  until  the  very  day  of  the  sec- 
ond tragedy.  The  recital  of  my  simple  story  produced 
such  an  effect  upon  him  that  he  at  once  directed  me  to  fol- 
low him. 

We  ascended  a  flight  of  wide  stone  steps  and  landed  on 
a  wide,  well  lighted  corridor.  At  the  right  hand  were  large 
iron-barred  windows  which  faced  a  stone-flagged  court.  At 
the  left-hand  was  a  large  grated  door  opening  into  an  im- 
mense room  wherein  there  appeared  to  be  more  than  a  hun- 
dred persons  of  all  colors  and  nationalities.  The  jailer  di- 
rected one  of  the  prisoners  to  call  the  two  young  Americans 
that  had  been  brought  in  the  evening  before.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments I  saw  young  Brainard,  in  company  with  another  per- 
son, making  their  way  towards  the  grated  door.  As  soon  as 
he  saw  me  the  poor  youth  burst  into  irrepressible  tears, 
while  his  companion  preserved  an  air  of  stolid  indifference. 
I  told  him  how  very,  very  sorry  I  was  to  learn  of  the  dread- 
ful occurrence,  and  that  I  had  come  to  him  to  offer  my  sym- 
pathy and  my  service.  He  then  introduced  me  to  his 
brother,  at  the  same  time  saying  that  the  South  American 
fever  had  left  him  but  a  wreck  of  his  former  self.  And  he 
might  well  call  him  a  wreck,  for  he  looked  so  emaciated  that 
he  seemed  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  cadaver.  He  appeared 
to  be  about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  with  a  dull,  listless 
look,  and  seemed  as  though  he  didn't  care  what  became  of  him. 
The  youth  described  to  me  the  particulars  of  the  encounter 
between  his  brother  and  the  captain;  of  the  latter's  brutal 
and  bullying  manner,  and  of  his  effort  to  kill  his  poor,  tot- 
tering brother  with  one  blow  of  his  powerful  fist.  But,  as 
to  the  result,  he  had  no  idea  in  the  world  that  his  brother 
would  resort  to  such  extreme  measures.  But  it  was  now 
done  and  could  not  be  recalled.  But  as  to  himself  he  was 
just  as  ignorant  of  his  brother's  design  before  the  occurrence 
as  a  child  unborn.  I  proffered  my  services  in  his  behalf, 
and  told  him  that  I  would  proceed  to  do  anything  that  he 
wanted  done.  He  replied  that  he  could  not  do  much  with- 
out money;  he  had  a  small  sum  that  he  had  retained  from 

9 


114  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

his  father's  purse,  and  his  brother  had  received  from  the 
American  Consul  at  Para  the  three  month's  wages  which 
the  law  required  of  the  captain  of  the  vessel  when  he  placed 
a  man  in  the  hospital  in  a  foreign  port.  And,  further,  there 
was  the  valuable  shipment  of  goods  of  his  father's,  which 
would  have  to  be  landed  in  order  to  heave  the  ship  down  for 
repairs.  I  told  him  I  would  proceed  at  once  to  see  what 
could  be  done.  I  at  once  proceeded  to  the  shop  of  my  new 
made  friend,  the  Hollander.  When  I  arrived  at  his  house 
I  found  him  there,  working  away  on  some  beautiful  Brazil 
wood  which  he  was  turning,  with  a  foot-lathe,  into  highly 
ornamented  chair  legs.  He  greeted  me  pleasantly,  and  bade 
me  sit  down.  I  at  once  opened  the  object  of  my  call,  and 
told  him  the  story  of  the  youth  from  the  very  beginning. 

After  he  had  heard  me  through  he  said  it  was  a  most  de- 
plorable aflfair,  and  that  he  felt  a  hearty  sympathy  for  the 
two  unfortunate  strangers.  He  then  told  me  of  a  native 
lawyer,  who  was  of  Dutch  parentage,  named  Van  Praag,  and 
a  man  of  fine  talents  and  great  influence  in  the  community, 
and  he  was  confident  that  if  he  would  espouse  the  cause  of 
the  two  young  men,  whatever  was  possible  he  would  do  it 
for  them.  He  wrote  the  name  and  address  of  the  lawyer, 
and  placed  his  own  name  at  the  bottom  of  the  paper. 

I  at  once  went  to  the  designated  place  and  the  house.  I 
asked  the  Negro  porter  for  the  master,  and  he  directed  me 
up  a  flight  of  stairs.  When  I  arrived  at  the  landing  I  found 
myself  on  a  balcony  overlooking  a  courtyard  that  was  a  ver- 
itable Garden  of  Eden.  There  were  banana  and  fig  trees, 
rose  bushes  and  magnolias,  and  in  fact  almost  everything  to 
delight  the  senses.  This  on  the  right  hand  side.  On  the 
left  were  the  doors  for  entering  the  house.  I  told  the  foot- 
man my  business,  and  at  the  same  time  handed  him  the  pa- 
per which  I  had  received  from  my  friend  Vanderdekken, 
He  opened  the  door  into  a  room  that  fronted  on  the  street 
and  bade  me  enter,  which  I  did.  I  found  myself  in  a  room 
that  was  not  very  large,  and  lined  on  all  sides  with  book- 
cases which  were  filled  with  enough  books  to  start  a  large 
New  England  library.     In  the  center  was  a  large  table  cov- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  115 

ered  with  green  baize  on  which  were  a  few  books,  some  of 
which  were  open,  inkstand,  pens  and  blank  paper.  I  now 
knew  I  was  in  the  office  of  the  lawyer  and  felt  convinced  that 
it  was  his  family  mansion.  I  stood  in  the  room  for  more 
than  five  minutes  anxiously  waiting  for  the  man  that  might 
help  my  young  friends. 

After  a  time  the  gentleman  came  with  the  scrap  of  paper 
in  his  hand  and  bowed  to  me  and  bid  me  good  morning.  If 
I  had  not  been  told  who  he  was  I  would  have  supposed  that 
he  had  just  landed  from  a  Dutch  ship.  He  was  a  broad 
faced,  light  complexioned,  curly  headed,  blue  eyed  man  of 
about  forty  years  of  age.  His  genial  manner  caused  me  to 
feel  quite  free  to  tell  him  my  story,  which  I  proceeded  to  do 
in  as  few  words  as  possible.  After  I  had  finished  my  narra- 
tive he  asked  me  as  to  their  means  at  hand.  I  told  him  of 
the  limited  amount  they  had,  but  that  they  had  a  large  quan- 
tity of  valuable  freight  on  board  the  ship,  which  would 
have  to  be  discharged  in  order  to  repair  the  ship,  and  then 
it  might  be  got  hold  of  or  be  hypothecated  to  whoever  wouki 
advance  the  necessary  money  to  defray  expenses  that  have 
to  be  incurred.  He  placed  his  left  elbow  upon  the  table 
and  rested  his  forehead  upon  his  left  hand.  He  remained 
in  meditation  for  as  much  as  three  or  four  minutes,  appar- 
ently unconscious  of  my  presence.  After  a  time  he  raised 
his  head  and  said:  "Young  man,  if  I  find  that  everything 
is  as  you  have  related  I  shall  take  this  case  in  hand  and  I 
will  try  my  best  to  help  the  two  poor  strangers."  He  looked 
up  at  the  clock  and  said,  '*  It  is  now  eleven  o'clock;  you  may 
come  here  at  half-past  two  o'clock,  and  I  will  then  be  ready 
to  go  with  you  to  the  jail  where  I  can  see  the  two  young 
men."  I  withdrew  from  his  presence  with  a  light  heart, 
for  I  felt  that  I  had  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  a  powerful 
friend  in  the  cause  of  the  two  captives. 

As  I  walked  along  the  street  I  saw  a  sight  that  reminded 
me  of  Gibraltar.  That  was  a  goatherder  driving  a  number 
of  goats  from  house  to  house,  and  at  each  house  where  he 
stopped  he  would  take  an  earthen  measure  from  a  girdle 
around  his  waist  and  proceed  to  draw  from  the  udder  of  one 


116  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

of  the  goats  as  much  milk  as  was  desired  to  supply  his  cus- 
tomer. After  this  he  would  secure  the  measure  to  his  gir- 
dle and  trot  along  again  to  the  house  of  the  next  customer. 
He  would  call  out  to  the  goats  in  a  way  that  sounded  like 
"  rah-bah-rarm, "  and  the  goats  would  run  along  and  halt 
directly  in  front  of  his  next  customer.  I  thought  if  this 
mode  prevailed  in  Philadelphia  that  the  Fairmount  Water- 
works would  have  the  demand  upon  its  aqueous  supply  very 
much  diminished. 

I  strolled  around  until  I  became  hungry,  and  finding  an 
humble  posada  or  inn  I  went  in  and  asked  for  a  cup  of  cof- 
fee. It  was  brought  to  me  and  also  a  small  roll  of  bread. 
The  coffee  was  delicious,  flavored  with  goats'  milk  and  sweet- 
ened with  loaf  sugar.  I  asked  the  lady  how  much,  and  she 
answered  fifty  reis;  this  was  equal  to  five  cents  of  American 
money,  which  I  paid. 

As  I  passed  into  the  street  it  impressed  me  with  its  quiet- 
ness; not  a  vehicle  nor  scarcely  any  person  in  the  street; 
profound  stillness  with  only  the  occasional  salutations  of  the 
women  to  one  another  from  opposite  balconies.  I  wondered 
to  myself,  when  do  these  people  work  and  how  do  they  earn 
their  living  ? 

At  two  o'clock  I  wended  my  way  back  to  the  mansion  of 
the  lawyer.  When  I  arrived  there  the  Negro  porter  recog- 
nized me  and  waived  his  hand  for  me  to  enter  and  ascend 
the  stairs,  which  I  did.  When  I  reached  the  landing  the 
footman  went  to  the  door  of  the  ofiice  and  announced  me  to 
his  master.  As  he  returned  to  the  door  he  waived  to  me  to 
enter.  When  I  went  in  the  lawyer  was  seated  at  the  table 
examining  and  poring  over  some  books.  When  I  entered  he 
bade  me  sit  down  and  said  that  he  would  go  with  me  di- 
rectly. He  withdrew  into  the  interior  portion  of  the  man- 
sion, from  whence  I  heard  childish  voices  and  innocent 
laughter,  giving  proof  that  he  was  a  gentleman  of  domestic 
responsibilities.  When  he  returned  into  the  office  I  saw 
that  he  was  metamorphosed  into  a  most  elegant  looking 
gentleman.  He  was  dressed  in  white  shirt  with  rufiled 
bosom,  white  linen  trowsers,  white  necktie,  white  Marseilles 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  117 

vest,  black  alpaca  coat,  leghorn  straw  high  hat,  low  mo- 
rocco shoes  and  white  stockings.  In  his  hand  he  carried  a 
silk  umbrella,  which  he  opened  when  we  reached  the  street 
to  protect  himself  from  the  hot  midsummer  sun. 

When  we  reached  the  street  he  desired  me  to  tell  him  the 
story  again  about  the  young  men,  which  I  did  in  as  few 
words  as  possible :     How  when  the  steamer  towed  the  ship 
down  the  Delaware  river  the  ship  was  anchored  off  abreast 
of  New  Castle,  where  we  went  ashore  and  brought  off  sev- 
eral  demijohns   of  whisky;    how  Capt.   Brainard  and  one 
other  passenger,  who  had  been  a  volunteer  and  served  under 
General  Scott  in  Mexico,  and  for  these  reasons  espoused  his 
cause,  while  Capt.  Brainard,  on  his  side,  advocated  General 
Taylor,  which  culminated    in  the  ex-volunteer  cutting  the 
throat  of  Capt.  Brainard.     That  Brainard  being  at  the  point 
of  death  was  taken  ashore,  and  his  young  son  was  allowed 
to  take  his  father's  papers  and  continue  in  the  ship  in  place 
of  his  father.     How  the  captain  had  driven  him  on  shore 
where  his  brother,  having  arrived  from  Para,  had  met  him 
and  in  an  altercation  with  Capt.  Blanchard  he  had  stabbed 
him  and  the  captain  was  supposed  to  be  in  extreme  danger. 
He  then  delivered  a  homily  on  American  jurisprudence,  with 
which  subject  he  seemed  to  be  quite  familiar,  and  said  that 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  as  laid  down  in  the  books 
were  most  admirable,  but  there  was  a  laxity  in  their  en- 
forcement.    For  example,  if  such  a  tragic  affair  had  taken 
place  in  the  harbor  of  Eio  Janeiro  as  what  had  taken  place 
in  the  Delaware  river,  the  ship  would  not  have  been  allowed 
to  proceed  on  her  voyage  until  the  witnesses  had  given  their 
deposition  and  everything  had  been  done  to  secure  the  trial 
and  conviction  of  the  culprit.     Further,  he  said  that  he  had 
read  many  decisions  rendered  by  judges  in  the  State  law 
courts  of  the  United  States  that  were  so  contrary  to  reason 
and  common  sense,  on  which  all  laws  should  be  founded, 
that  it  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  many  of  the  judges 
laid  themselves  liable  to  the  charge  of  venality  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  important  duties. 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  portal  of  the  jail.     As  soon 


118  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

as  tlie  guard  at  the  gate  espied  the  lawyer  he  spoke  to  his 
assistant  and  he  fetched  the  jailer.  The  iron  gate  was  at 
once  thrown  open  and  the  lawyer  was  received  with  much 
obsequiousness,  and  after  a  few  words  with  the  jailer  was 
escorted  up  the  stone  stairway  to  the  floor  above.  The  law- 
yer bade  me  follow.  As  soon  as  we  arrived  at  the  landing 
the  jailer  promptly  drew  a  key  from  his  pocket  and  opened 
the  iron  barred  door,  and  ordered  the  youth  Brainard  to 
come  into  the  corridor.  I  introduced  him  to  the  lawyer, 
and  he  then  told  his  plain,  unvarnished  story,  to  which  the 
lawyer  paid  close  attention.  At  the  conclusion  the  lawyer 
asked  about  the  papers,  and  the  youth  told  him  that  he  had 
them  secured  about  his  person.  The  lawyer  bid  him  to 
hand  them  over  to  him,  for  which  he  would  give  him  a  re- 
ceipt, which  he  at  once  wrote  at  the  desk  in  the  corridor, 
and  then  told  him  to  wait  patiently  until  the  next  day,  while 
he  would  call  upon  the  magistrate  and  see  what  the  charge 
was  against  him.  The  youth  was  then  returned  inside  the 
grated  door  and  the  key  turned  upon  him. 

After  we  returned  to  the  street  the  lawyer  told  me  to 
come  to  his  office  the  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  and  he 
would  then  tell  me  what  could  be  done.  We  now  parted 
and  I  proceeded  to  the  jetty,  it  being  five  o'clock,  and  hav- 
ing accomplished  the  engaging  of  a  great  lawyer  for  the  two 
unfortunates,  I  returned  to  the  ship  with  a  light  heart.  On 
board  the  ship  I  didn't  disclose  my  doings  to  any  one,  as 
the  subject  was  not  one  that  could  be  openly  discussed. 
After  supper  I  retired  to  my  berth  thoroughly  tired  with  the 
day's  labors,  and  slept  until  morning. 

The  next  morning  after  breakfast  I  polished  myself  up 
and  was  ready  for  the  first  boat,  which  left  the  ship  at  nine 
o'clock.  Many  of  the  passengers,  who  had  money,  having 
found  out  that  they  could  board  ashore  in  an  humble  way 
very  cheap,  had  taken  board  and  lodgings  on  shore,  so  that 
the  few  impecunious  ones  like  myself  felt  like  interlopers, 
but  for  all  that  we  knew  that  we  had  a  right  to  be  on  board, 
as  we  had  paid  our  two  hundred  dollars  in  Philadelphia  to 
be  taken  to  San  Francisco.     When  we  arrived  on  shore  I 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  119 

■went  immediately  to  my  good  friend  Yanderdekken  and  re- 
ported progress.  He  said  he  was  very  glad  that  so  accom- 
plished a  lawyer  as  Yan  Praag  had  consented  to  take  the 
case  of  the  two  prisoners  in  hand,  and  he  thought  that  of 
itself  would  go  a  long  ways  to  ameliorate  their  condition  in 
the  jail,  as  the  lawyer  was  a  man  of  great  influence  in  the 
community. 

I  then  went  to  the  office  of  the  lawyer  and  he  received 
me  in  his  office.  He  told  me  that  he  had  obtained  an  inter- 
view with  the  committing  magistrate,  on  the  evening  pre- 
vious, in  behalf  of  the  youth,  and  had  explained  to  him  that 
the  crime  was  committed  by  the  elder  brother  without  the 
youth's  previous  knowledge  as  to  what  was  to  take  place. 
Therefore  the  judge  had  said  that  he  would  give  him  an  an- 
swer on  this  day  at  three  o'clock.  The  lawyer  told  me  that 
this  was  the  summer  vacation  of  the  courts,  lasting  from 
Christmas  week  until  after  Saint  Sebastian's  day,  the  patron 
saint  of  Rio  Janeiro,  as  the  harbor  was  discovered  on  his  an- 
niversary. So  he  told  me  to  return  to  his  office  at  two 
o'clock,  at  which  time  I  should  go  with  him  to  the  mansion 
of  the  magistrate.  I  withdrew  expressing  my  sincere  thanks 
for  his  kindness. 

As  I  walked  about  the  city  I  came  upon  a  large  two- 
story  stone  mansion  surrounded  with  very  high  stone  walls, 
above  which  I  could  see  the  tops  of  trees.  It  inclosed  a 
large  space.  I  inquired  as  to  the  identity  of  the  establish- 
ment and  was  informed  that  it  was  an  asylum  for  female 
children,  and  that  it  "was  under  the  immediate  patronage  of 
the  Emperor  and  Empress,  and  in  charge  of  an  order  of  re- 
ligious ladies.  There  were  received  female  children  that 
were  orphans  or  abandoned  by  their  cruel  parents.  They 
were  reared  and  educated  in  mental  and  physical  usefulness — 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  sewing,  cooking,  and  all  useful 
branches  of  every  day  life  work.  Many  young  men  go  there 
to  seek  a  wife,  and  when  they  furnish  a  guarantee  of  good 
moral  and  industrious  character  they  are  allowed  into  the 
reception  room,  where  they  may  meet  such  young  women  as 
are  eligible  for  the  duties  of  wedded  life.    When  they  choose 


120  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

one  and  the  desire  is  reciprocal  the  young  man  is  required 
to  make  a  reasonable  donation  to  the  institution,  or  else  to 
furnish  a  guarantee  to  do  so  at  a  reasonable  period  in  the 
near  future.  Such  of  the  girls  as  are  placed  with  respect- 
able families  are  looked  after  by  accredited  agents  of  the  in- 
stitution, so  that  it  is  said  that  there  is  not  a  little  girl 
within  the  limits  of  Rio  Janeiro  that  needs  a  parent's  care 
but  what  she  receives  it  with  parental  solicitude. 

I  to-day  revisited  the  little  grocery  facing  the  square  and 
ate  my  simple  repast  of  fried  fish  with  the  roll  of  bread, 
which  I  paid  ten  cents  for.  At  two  o'clock  I  presented  my- 
self at  the  office  of  the  lawyer  and  found  him  ready  to  go 
to  the  house  of  the  magistrate.  As  we  went  along  he  asked 
about  myself,  and  I  told  him  I  was  a  sailor,  without  any  do- 
mestic ties,  and  seeking  my  fortune  wherever  I  thought  it 
could  be  found.  He  replied  that  the  best  way  for  a  young 
man  to  seek  fortune  was  to  have  industrious  hands  and  an 
honest  purpose,  which,  in  time,  will  win  him  a  competency 
and  a  clean  and  easy  conscience  wherewith  to  enjoy  it. 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  place  of  our  destination.  In 
the  archway  stood  a  Negro  concierge  dressed  in  a  livery. 
He  knew  the  lawyer  and  bowed  profoundly.  The  lawyer,  as 
we  walked  into  the  courtyard,  bade  him  to  announce  his 
presence  to  the  magistrate,  which  he  at  once  went  to  do, 
while  we  seated  ourselves  on  the  settees  placed  around. 
The  lackey  soon  returned  and  told  the  lawyer  that  his  mas- 
ter was  ready  to  receive  him.  The  lawyer  arose  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  door  whence  the  Negro  had  emerged,  and  left 
me  seated. 

I  now  reflected  over  the  sad  affair  of  the  stabbing  of  the 
captain,  and  how  dreadful  was  the  situation  of  the  two 
brothers,  who  were  now  in  prison  in  a  strange  land,  without 
a  relative  or  a  near  friend  with  the  power  to  aid  them,  for 
however  willing  I  might  be,  I  was  without  money  and  there- 
fore without  the  means  that  are  indispensable  in  all  emer- 
gencies that  arise  in  civilized  communities  whereby  any 
effective  action  can  be  taken. 

At  the  expiration  of  about  fifteen  minutes  a  footman  came 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  121 

to  me  and  told  me  to  follow  him.  I  obeyed  and  we  entered 
a  spacious  room  with  high  ceiling  and  rich  stucco  work 
around.  The  floor  was  of  polished  wood,  and  a  number  of 
large  heavy  chairs  with  leather  cushions  were  ranged  around 
the  room.  On  a  raised  dais  was  an  imposiDg,  dark  com- 
plexioned  gentleman,  with  a  large  polished  wood  desk  in 
front  of  him,  and  from  the  wall  back  of  him  extended  a  can- 
opy of  rich  damask  cloth.  Over  his  head  was  the  imperial 
coat  of  arms  of  Brazil.  At  a  table  in  front  of  the  desk  sat  a 
young,  pale-faced  man,  writing  a  document.  The  lawyer, 
who  was  sitting  near  the  table,  motioned  to  me  to  approach 
and  I  did  so  with  awe,  feeling  that  I  was  now  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  personage  who  possessed  great  power.  The  law- 
yer spoke  in  a  familiar  maoner  to  the  gentleman  that  sat  on 
the  chair  of  state,  and  they  exchanged  a  few  words.  Then 
the  young  man  passed  up  the  document,  which  the  gentle- 
man read  and  to  which  he  affixed  his  name  and  handed 
back  to  the  young  man,  who  then  folded  it  and  affixed  some 
words  to  the  back  and  handed  the  document  to  the  lawyer, 
who  at  once,  without  looking  into  it,  handed  it  to  me,  at  the 
same  time  saying,  "Take  this  to  the  jail  and  deliver  it  to 
the  chief  jailer,  and  he  will  at  once  release  your  young  friend, 
and  to-morrow  morning  you  must  escort  him  to  my  office, 
and  we  will  then  have  a  conference." 

I  received  the  precious  document  with  a  throbbing  heart. 
I  have  my  doubts  whether  General  Scott  felt  more  proud  of 
his  achievement  when  he  received  the  surrender  of  the  City 
of  Mexico  than  I  did  of  mine,  through  the  kind  and  generous 
and  God-inspired  act  of  this  blessed,  whole-souled  stranger, 
the  lawyer  of  Kio  de  Janeiro.  I  withdrew  after  giving  vent 
to  a  profusion  of  thanks,  and  as  I  reached  the  street  I  felt 
so  light  that  I  seemed  to  fly,  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  to- 
wards the  jail. 

When  I  reached  the  iron-grated  door  the  gatekeeper  sent 
for  the  jailer,  while  I  waited  on  the  outside.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments the  jailer  arrived,  and  ordered  the  gate  to  be  opened. 
As  I  entered  the  courtyard  I  handed  the  precious  document 
to  the  jailer,  who  opened  it,  read  it  carefully,  folded  it  and 
took  it  to  his  office,  in  the  rear  part  of  the  yard,  and  returned. 


122  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

He  then  told  me  to  sit  down  on  a  bench,  and  ordered  one  of 
his  attendants  to  go  upstairs  with  him.  While  they  were 
gone  I  looked  around  me,  and  observed  that  the  lower  or 
first  floor  was  divided  into  cells,  with  strong,  heavy  doors, 
and  I  learned  that  prisoners,  after  conviction  and  sentence, 
were  placed  in  these  cells  preparatory  to  being  sent  to  the 
stone  quarries,  some  miles  away,  near  the  mouth  of  the  har- 
bor. After  some  ten  minutes  the  jailer  and  his  attendant 
descended  the  stone  stairs  with  the  liberated  young  fellow 
walking  between  them;  as  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  ran  to  me 
and  grasped  my  hand  with  intense  fervor.  He  said  that 
words  were  inadequate  to  express  his  feelings,  but  his  action 
in  the  future  would  give  proof  of  his  gratitude.  As  we  were 
in  the  act  of  leaving  the  jailyard,  what  was  my  astonishment 
to  see  at  the  gate  the  chief  mate  of  the  ship,  Mr.  Cranston, 
with  his  gold-bowed  spectacles  on  his  nose  and  a  broad  smile 
on  his  face.  He  grasped  young  Brainard  by  the  hand  and 
congratulated  him  on  his  liberation.  I  felt  perfectly  dis- 
gusted with  such  manifest  duplicity.  But  his  early  arrival 
at  the  jail  convinced  me  that  the  magistrate  had  sent  a  doc- 
tor to  the  hotel  to  learn  the  condition  of  the  captain  before 
he  would  set  young  Brainard  free,  and  tliat  was  how  the  mate 
got  an  inkling  of  what  was  going  on. 

After  the  mate  parted  from  us,  I  took  the  youth,  to  the 
house  of  my  adviser,  Mr.  Vandardekken,  to  whom  I  intro- 
duced him,  at  the  same  time  making  due  acknowledgment 
for  his  great  kindness  and  guidance. 

I  then  accompanied  my  young  friend  to  the  door  of  his 
boarding  house;  after  arranging  to  meet  him  in  the  morning, 
I  proceeded  to  the  jetty  and  took  a  boat  for  the  ship.  I  ar- 
rived on  board  at  half-past  six  o'clock  and  found  that  the 
news  had  preceded  me.  My  fellow-passengers  said  I  had 
done  a  good  deed;  but,  said  they,  how  will  you  stand  with 
the  captain  if  he  gets  well  and  takes  charge  of  the  ship  ? 
This  set  me  to  thinking;  and  I  discovered  that  I  had  become 
a  marked  man  on  board.  I  was  a  little  late — as  six  o'clock 
was  the  hour  for  supper — but  the  steward  served  me  an  extra- 
fine  supper,  and  impressed  upon  me  that  I  had  acted  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  123 

part  of  a  good  Samaritan,  and  to  have  no  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences, where  a  noble  act  was  concerned.  I  learned  that 
during  the  day  the  steamship  "Tennessee"  had  arrived — 
twenty- six  days  from  New  York — and  therefore,  as  this  was 
the  twelfth  day  of  January,  she  would  have  papers  as  late  as 
December  17th,  1849.  I  determined  to  go  on  board  of  her 
the  following  day  and  obtain  some  New  York  papers  which 
had  been  read  and  were  of  no  further  use  to  the  people  on 
board.  I  retired  to  my  berth  with  the  feeling  of  having 
done  what  was  right,  but  I  could  see  by  the  manner  of  the 
mate  that  1  would  be  in  bad  favor  after  this  episode. 

The  next  morning,  as  I  was  preparing  to  go  ashore,  Mr. 
Bryson,  the  second  mate,  spoke  to  me,  and  said:  "Young 
feller,  I  hear  that  you  made  yourself  busy  enough  to  get 
young  Brainard  out  of  the  jug.  You  done  a  good  deed.  I 
feel  for  the  two  young  fellers,  although  I  never  saw  tother 
one,  but  they  are  both  Philadelphia  boys,  and  so'm  I,  and 
that's  enough  for  me.  Now,  I'll  give  you  a  piece  of  advice* 
and  that  is  this — don't  you  huve  anything  more  to  do  with 
the  old  man  than  you  can  help.  When  we  leave  here,  don't 
you  turn  to  work  again  or  have  anything  to  do  about  deck — 
eat,  drink,  and  sleep,  the  same  as  any  passenger,  and  then 
if  the  old  man  interferes  with  you  it  will  be  a  sorry  day  for 
him.  He  is  my  commanding  officer  and  I  don't  want  to  say 
any  more.  Keep  clear  of  the  male,  for  he  and  the  captain 
suck  through  the  same  quill."  After  this  kindly  admonition 
he  turned  to  attend  to  his  usual  duties,  while  I  jumped  into 
the  boat,  with  others  of  my  fellow-passengers,  and  we  went 
on  shore. 

After  landing  I  went  to  my  young  friend  and  found  him 
already  to  proceed  to  the  lawyer,  which  we  did  at  once. 
When  we  arrived  at  the  house  the  porter  bade  us  go  upstairs, 
and  when  we  ascended  to  the  balcony  the  footman  escorted 
us  to  the  office,  where  we  found  the  lawyer  awaiting  us.  He 
saluted  us  pleasantly  and  congratulated  Brainard  on  having 
obtained  his  freedom.  On  the  table  I  saw  that  he  had  the 
bills  of  lading,  the  list  of  goods,  and  many  of  the  bills  of 
goods  which  were  receipted.     "  Now,"  said  the  lawyer,  "we 


124  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

will  enter  into  business  at  once,  I  see  that  your  father  has 
goods  on  board  the  ship  '  Samson  '  that  cost  him  all  of  two 
thousand  dollars.  A  marine  board  has  surveyed  the  ship 
and  have  ordered  her  to  be  discharged,  and  repaired  so  as 
to  be-  seaworthy.  Now,  the  question  is  whether  enough  of 
these  goods  can  be  segregated  from  the  cargo,  and  sold  here, 
to  enable  you  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  that  you  will 
have  to  incur  in  order  to  employ  counsel  to  defend  your 
brother  in  the  court.  For  you  must  know  that  in  Brazil  you 
cannot  buy  justice — which  T  fear  is  not  the  case  in  your 
country — but  you  can  make  a  proper  presentation  of  your 
case,  with  all  the  mitigating  circumstances  in  favor  of  the 
accused,  and  to  do  this,  involves  much  labor  and  legal  skill; 
and  here,  as  in  other  countries,  such  services  must  be  paid; 
for,  as  the  holy  writ  tells  us,  '  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his 
hire.'  I  will  now  go  to  the  American  Consul,  with  whom  I 
am  well  acquainted,  and  will  see  what  can  be  done.  And  if 
I  fail  to  make  any  satisfactory  arrangement  with  him,  I  will 
then  draAv  up  a  bond  of  hypothecation  which  you  and  your 
brother  will  sign  and  acknowledge  in  the  presence  of  the 
American  Consul,  and  I  will  send  that  to  San  Francisco  and 
there  it  will  be  collected  when  the  *  Samson '  arrives  there. 
This  being  disposed  of  for  the  present,  I  will  advise  you  as 
to  your  brother.  When  I  saw  him  in  the  prison  my  heart 
softened  to  see  a  living  skeleton  as  he  is,  standing  there 
charged  with  such  a  heinous  crime  as  an  attempt  at  murder. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  he  must  be  a  cowardly  bully  that 
would  raise  his  hand  to  strike  such  a  shadow  of  a  man  as 
your  brother  is.  Now  let  me  advise  you,  as  I  am  given  to 
understand  that  you  and  brother  have  some  money  between 
you,  the  very  first  act  of  yours  should  be  to  arrange  with 
the  nearest  eating  place  to  the  prison  to  supply  you  with 
good  and  regular  meals  for  your  brother,  which  you  must 
take  to  him  yourself,  and  I  will  arrange  with  the  jailer  that 
he  shall  allow  the  prisoner  to  come  out  into  the  corridor  to 
eat  his  food.  Tell  him  to  eat  and  become  strong,  and  as  to  the 
rest  he  may  trust  to  me,  with  unwavering  confidence,  that  all 
will  be  done  for  him  that  legal  skill  and  acumen  can  accom- 
plish. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  125 

"  Now  as  to  your  good  friend  here,  he  has  proved  the 
truth  of  the  old  adage,  which  says: 

"  A  friend  in  need  is  a  friend  indeed, 
And  prized  as  such  should  be,  sirs. 
While  summer  friends,  when  summer  ends, 
Are  oflf  and  o'er  the  sea,  sirs." 

"  Now  that  he  has  served  you  so  well  you  had  better  release 
him  from  any  further  attendance  for  fear  that  it  may  excite 
a  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the  captain  against  him."  He 
then  bade  me  good  by,  adding  that  he  thought  I  was  an 
honest  fellow  and  hoped  I  would  succeed  in  life.  I  never 
saw  him  after  that  time;  but  whenever  I  met  a  good  man  my 
mind  always  reverted  to  the  good  lawyer  in  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
After  we  withdrew  from  the  lawyer  young  Brainard  went  to 
the  jail  to  see  his  brother  and  select  a  place  from  which  to 
obtain  his  meals,  while  I  strolled  towards  the  harbor,  and 
on  the  way  stopped  again  at  the  little  tavern  where  I  again 
took  a  cup  of  rich  coffee  with  goat's  milk  and  a  nice  roll,  for 
all  of  which  I  paid  five  cents,  for  now  "grass  was  getting 
short  with  me." 

When  I  reached  the  beach  I  found  several  California 
bound  passengers  who,  like  myself,  desired  to  visit  the  steam- 
ship "Tennessee,"  and  we  at  once  engaged  a  boat  to  take 
us  out  and  back  for  two  dollars,  as  she  laid  all  of  three  miles 
from  the  shore,  for  the  harbor  of  Eio  is  at  least  ten  miles 
wide  in  front  of  the  city.  We  were  six  in  number,  each  one 
paying  his  proportion.  As  we  were  going  off  to  the  steamer 
some  of  them  said  that  if  they  could  secure  a  passage  on  her 
they  would  gladly  forfeit  what  they  had  paid  for  their  pass- 
age on  the  "wind  jammer"  and  go  in  a  craft  that  could  sail 
right  in  the  wind's  eye.  But  alas,  for  their  hopes!  When  we 
arrived  on  board  we  were  received  in  a  most  friendly  man- 
ner. The  purser  informed  the  applicants  for  a  passage  that  it 
had  been  arranged  in  New  York  to  have  as  many  passengers 
on  the  Isthmus  by  the  time  that  the  steamer  arrived  in  Pana- 
ma as  the  ship  could  accommodate;  therefore  they  had  been 
ordered,  before  leaving  New  York,  not  to  take  any  passengers 
on  board  at  Eio,  where  they  were  to  touch  to  replenish  their 


126  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

stock  of  coal.  As  to  obtaining  newspapers  we  were  more 
fortunate.  The  chief  engineer  was  named  Mr.  Bills — who 
afterwards  established  a  shop  on  Jackson  street  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, to  repair  the  machinery  of  steamboats — he  kindly  in- 
structed one  of  the  stewards  to  gather  up  all  the  stray  papers 
that  ho  could  find  and  give  the  same  to  us.  We  therefore 
had  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  newspapers  from  all  the 
prominent  cities  in  the  eastern  and  middle  States,  in  date  up 
to  December  sixteenth  previous.  To  us  this  was  a  grand 
feast.  In  these  we  found  the  news  that  made  me  feel  very 
uneasy,  for  it  announced  the  fact  the  California  fever  was  in- 
creasing in  every  town  from  Eastport  to  the  Capes  of  Vir- 
ginia. Mechanics  were  leaving  their  workshops,  small  farm- 
ers were  mortgaging  their  farms,  and  even  ministers  were 
leaving  their  pulpits  to  join  the  grand  procession  that  was 
marching  towards  the  El  Dorado.  I  felt  as  though  we  were 
left  out  in  the  cold.  I  thought  that  by  the  time  we  arrived 
there  that  every  bushel  of  gold  dust  in  California  would  be 
dug  up,  sacked,  and  carried  away.  These  thoughts  seem 
ridiculous  at  this  late  day,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
at  the  time  when  we  started  for  California  we  had  only  a 
crude  idea  about  the  manner  of  getting  the  gold,  or  as  to 
how  much  we  would  dig  up  per  day.  In  fact,  all  we  did 
know  was  that  there  was  lots  of  gold  in  California,  and  that 
we  only  knew  by  hearsay. 

I  found  in  a  Philadelphia  paper  an  article  that  interested 
me  very  much.  It  was  nothing  less  than  the  account  of  the 
trial  of  the  culprit  that  cut  the  throat  of  Capt.  Brainard  on 
October  fifth,  on  board  the  ship  "  Samson,"  then  lying  off 
New  Castle  and  bound  to  California.  The  article  detailed 
all  the  particulars  of  the  tragic  affair;  how  Capt.  Brainard 
was  taken  ashore,  supposed  to  be  in  a  dying  condition;  how 
the  culprit  was  brought  ashore  at  the  same  time  and  im- 
prisoned; how  the  captain  hovered  between  life  and  death 
for  many  days;  how  by  skillful  medical  treatment  and  care- 
ful nursing  by  his  family,  who  attended  him  in  New  Castle, 
he  had  finally  recovered;  how  the  culprit  was  put  on  trial 
and  was  acquitted  by  reason  of  there  being  only  one  witness 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  127 

to  testify  against  him,  and  thus  he  had  escaped  scot  free,  I 
was  highly  delighted  to  learn  of  the  recovery  of  Capt.  Brain- 
ard,  and  was  resolved  to  convey  the  news  and  the  paper  to 
young  Brainard  the  next  morning.  Every  one  on  board  the 
ship  was  highly  pleased  to  hear  of  the  recovery  of  Capt. 
Brainard,  at  the  same  time  expressing  the  hope  that  Capt. 
Blanchard  would  be  as  fortunate,  so  that  the  ship  might 
be  quickly  put  in  trim,  so  that  we  could  resume  our  voyage 
towards  the  land  of  gold. 

The  next  morning  I  carried  the  newspaper  ashore  with 
me,  and  as  soon  as  young  Brainard  read  the  account  of  his 
father's  complete  recovery,  he  became  so  much  elated  that 
he  skipped  around  like  one  that  was  demented.  I  gave  him 
the  newspaper  that  he  might  show  it  to  his  brother,  and  as 
I  had  nothing  more  to  do  I  sauntered  around  the  town  view- 
ing the  strange  sights.  Some  of  my  fellow-passengers  forced 
me,  against  my  will,  to  go  with  them  to  see  about  buying 
some  crude  diamonds,  of  which  they  had  read  in  their  school- 
books,  wherein  Brazil  was  described  as  the  great  depository 
of  the  finest  diamonds,  which  were  taken  out  of  dark,  deep 
mines  in  the  mountains  by  slaves.  In  order  to  please  them, 
as  I  couldn't  buy  a  diamond  even  if  they  were  selling  at  a 
dollar  a  pound^  I  guided  them  to  the  Kua  do  Ouvidor,  which 
was  the  center  of  the  rich  retail  trade.  There  were  four  of  us, 
and  as  we  entered  the  store  one  of  the  clerks  came  forward  and 
I  explained  our  business  to  him.  He  at  once  went  to  the 
office  in  the  further  end  of  the  store,  which,  being  on  a  cor- 
ner, the  office  faced  another  and  narrower  street,  and  in- 
formed the  head  man.  He  came  forward  to  where  we  were 
waiting  and  bowed  very  politely,  and  I  explained  to  him 
that  my  companions  were  moneyed  gentlemen  and  desired 
to  invest  some  of  their  money  in  crude  Brazilian  diamonds. 
As  soon  as  he  understood  what  I  had  said  he  burst  into  an 
uncontrollable  fit  of  laughter  that  caused  me  to  feel  very 
much  abashed.  When  he  discovered  my  apparent  discom- 
fiture he  apologized  for  his  seeming  rudeness,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  explain  that  he  was  a  native  of  Brazil,  although  he 
had  served  his  apprenticeship  in  Paris,  but  in  all  his  life  had 


128  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

only  seen  as  many  natural  rough  diamonds  as  he  could  count 
on  his  fingers.  He  said  that  the  government  was  very  strict  in 
regulating  the  product  of  the  diamond  mines  and  required 
of  the  managers  thereof  a  quarterly  account  of  all  diamonds 
obtained,  and  also  demanded  a  royalty  for  every  diamond 
that  was  mined.  Then  there  was  an  export  duty  to  be  paid 
before  they  were  allowed  to  be  sent  abroad.  He  said  the 
diamond  cutting  industry  was  unknown  in  Brazil;  that  there 
were  lapidaries  in  the  city,  but  he  didn't  know  any  one  of 
them  that  cut  and  polished  diamonds.  Then  he  told  me 
that  a  number  of  Americans  had  called  at  his  place  on  the 
same  errand.  I  then  told  him  that  the  Americans  imbibe 
their  ideas  about  diamonds  from  school-books,  in  which  are 
published  a  lot  of  trash  about  kings,  emperors,  diamonds 
and  other  things  that  have  no  foundation  in  fact.  When  I 
explained  this  to  my  friends  they  seemed  much  disappointed, 
having  anticipated  a  large  gain  from  the  purchase  of  dia- 
monds in  their  natural  state. 

Our  captain  was  improving  daily,  as  we  learned  from  the 
mate,  as  none  of  the  passengers  had  been  allowed  to  see 
him. 

It  was  now  the  eighteenth  of  January,  and  yet  the  ship 
had  not  been  taken  to  the  upper  harbor,  where  she  was  to 
be  discharged  and  hove  down  for  repairs.  I  felt  that  we 
were  wasting  precious  time,  and  besides  I  felt  uneasy  as  to 
how  I  would  get  along  with  the  captain  after  we  got  to  sea. 
Several  of  our  passengers,  among  them  two  gentlemen  and 
their  wives,  had  become  disgusted  with  the  ship  and  had 
taken  passage  in  another  vessel  and  had  already  sailed  for 
California.  The  following  day,  as  I  was  walking  around  near 
the  landing,  I  was  surprised  to  see,  among  a  group  of  Ameri- 
cans who  were  passing  by,  a  young  man  named  Simon  Brown- 
nell,  with  whom  I  had  been  well  acquainted  in  Boston.  I 
saluted  him  and  as  soon  as  he  recognized  me  he  returned 
the  salutation  in  a  most  hearty  manner.  After  exchanging 
the  account  of  our  experiences  since  we  had  met  in  Boston, 
I  proceeded  and  told  him  how  I  had  taken  cabin  passage 
in  the  ship  "  Samson,"  Capt.  Blanchard,  from  Philadelphia 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  129 

for  San  Francisco,  and  all  other  particulars  with  which  the 
reader  is  already  acquainted.  He  told  me  that  he  was  a 
passenger  on  board  the  ship  ''Urania,"  Capt.  Buckland, 
from  Boston  and  bound  to  San  Francisco.  He  told  me  that 
Capt.  Buckland  was  of  Cape  Cod  and  a  most  elegant  gentle- 
man. I  told  him  that  I  felt  that  I  was  wasting  time,  and  sin- 
cerely wished  to  get  on  board  of  some  ship  where  I  could 
work  my  passage,  as  I  had  invested  what  money  I  had  in 
Philadelphia  in  a  venture  of  such  articles  as  I  thought  I 
could  sell  in  the  land  of  gold,  and  the  goods  were  on  board 
the  "Samson."  He  replied  that  he  would  introduce  me  to 
Capt.  Buckland  and  would  recommend  me  as  being  a  sailor 
as  he  knew  me  to  be.  I  thanked  him  for  his  friendly  offer 
and  kind  intentions.  He  told  me  to  be  at  the  American 
ship  chandlery  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  and  he 
would]  speak  to  the  captain  for  me  in  advance.  I  again 
thanked  him  and  promised  to  be  on  hand  the  next  morning 
^and  then  we  parted.  I  was  now  full  of  hope.  I  felt  that  I 
saw  an  avenue  of  escape  from  a  most  disagreeable  position. 
I  went  on  board  the  ship  that  evening  buoyed  by  the  hope 
that  I  would  yet  escape  from  the  thraldom  in  which  I  found 
myself.  I  ate  my  supper  and  retired  to  my  berth  without 
saying  anything  to  any  of  my  fellow-passengers  about  my 
project. 

The  following  morning  I  divulged  my  intention  to  Mr. 
Bryson,  the  second  mate,  whom  I  looked  upon  as  my  friend. 
He  advised  me  to  do  so  by  all  means,  for  he  felt  convinced 
that  when  Capt.  Blanchard  returned  to  the  ship  he  would 
make  matters  very  unpleasant  for  me,  as  he  looked  upon 
him  as  being  a  very  vindictive  man.  I  went  ashore  and 
reached  the  American  chandlery  by  half-past  nine  o'clock. 
Mr.  Brownnell  was  already  there,  and  after  salutations  told 
me  that  he  had  already  communicated  to  Capt.  Buckland  all 
about  me,  and  he  felt  confident  that  I  would  be  given  a 
chance  to  work  for  my  passage.  He  requested  me  to  wait 
with  him  until  the  captain  came,  as  he  expected  him  at  the 
chandlery  very  soon.  I  waited  with  my  friend  and  told  him 
many  incidents  that  occurred  during  my  voyage.     I  told 

10 


130  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

him  about  Neptune  and  about  the  water-spout  and  other 
things.  While  I  was  rattling  with  my  yarns  he  admonished 
me  that  the  captain  was  approaching.  As  he  indicated  I 
looked  up  and  saw  a  gentleman  approaching  that  stood  at 
least  six  feet  two  inches  high,  with  a  Websterian  head  and 
brown  complexion  and  the  carriage  of  an  admiral.  He  sa- 
luted Mr.  Browunell  and  Mr.  Brownnell  introduced  mo  as 
the  person  of  whom  he  had  spoken  the  evening  before.  The 
captain  saluted  me  with  condescension,  and  I  then  recited 
to  him  my  affairs  and  told  him  of  the  dilemma  in  which  I 
was  placed  without  the  means  to  help  myself.  After  he 
heard  me  he  said  that,  although  he  had  a  good  crew,  that 
some  of  them  were  not  so  expert  aloft  as  men  that  had 
always  sailed  in  square-rigged  vessels,  and  therefore,  as  I 
was  recommended  by  Mr.  Brownnell,  he  would  take  me,  but 
did  not  want  to  ship  me  in  a  formal  manner  through  the 
consular  office  as  that  involved  considerable  expense,  but  as 
he  intended  to  sail  on  Tuesday  or  Wednesday  I  could  come 
on  board  and  bring  my  chest  and  he  would  instruct  the  mate 
to  permit  me  to  come  on  board  the  ship.  The  captain  then 
left  me  and  passed  into  the  ship  chandlery.  My  heart  beat 
fast  at  this  announcement,  and  the  following  beautiful  lines 
came  to  my  mind: 

"  Ye  fearful  saints  fresh  courage  take; 
The  clouds  you  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy  and  will  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head." 

For  whereas  I  had  been  despondent  and  fearful  before,  I 
now  felt  that  the  clouds  of  darkness  were  breaking  away  and 
the  bow  of  promise  showed  itself  to  my  mind. 

I  now  laid  out  my  plans.  I  went  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Hotel  Pharoux  and  there  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  first 
mate,  Mr.  Cranston,  who  I  knew  came  there  daily  to  make 
his  report  to  the  captain.  He  arrived  about  eleven  o'clock, 
and  I  accosted  him  in  my  politest  manner.  I  told  him  that 
I  had  already  expended  all  my  spare  change,  and  for  that 
reason  would  be  obliged  to  stay  on  board  the  ship  alto- 
gether, and  now  having  met  an  acquaintance  he  had  kindly 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  131 

induced  the  captain  of  the  ship  on  which  he  was  a  passenger 
to  give  me  the  chance  to  work  for  my  passage  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. Now  what  I  desired  of  him  was  to  secure  me  an  in- 
terview with  Capt.  Blanchard  about  the  balance  of  my 
passage  money  and  an  allowance  of  my  two  months'  wages. 
The  mate  bade  me  wait  in  front  of  the  hotel  for  a  time,  and 
if  he  found  the  captain  in  a  condition  to  converse  he  would 
then  come  down  and  call  me.  He  went  upstairs  and  I 
awaited  his  return,  but  whatever  his  answer  might  be,  I  had 
already  determined  to  avail  myself  of  the  glorious  oppor- 
tunity to  secure  a  quick  passage  to  California.  After  fifteen 
minutes  Mr.  Cranston  came  downstairs  and  told  me  to  fol- 
low him.  We  went  upstairs  and  passed  along  a  wide  cor- 
ridor until  we  came  to  the  end  room,  when  he  opened  a  door 
on  the  righthand  side  and  escorted  me  into  a  fine  large  room 
with  windows  opening  into  the  square  that  looked  towards 
one  of  the  large  fountains,  which  was  in  full  play.  Facing 
the  door  was  the  side  of  a  large,  high  bed,  on  which  reclined 
Capt.  Blanchard,  whom  I  had  not  seen  since  the  terrible 
day  on  which  he  received  his  wound.  Near  the  head  of  the 
bed  sat  his  wife,  and  as  I  entered  the  captain  turned  his 
head  and  looked  at  me,  and  his  wife  gazed  at  me  with  a  look 
of  reproach  that  caused  me  to  feel  like  a  guilty  wretch. 

The  mate  withdrew  and  then  the  captain  said  to  me  in  a 
severe  tone,  "What  do  you  want?"  I  then  explained  that 
I  had  an  opportunity  to  work  my  passage  to  San  Francisco, 
and  I  had  waited  upon  him  to  ask  him  to  make  me  some 
concession  for  the  balance  of  my  passage  money,  and  also 
to  pay  my  wages  for  the  two  months'  service.  He  answered 
severely,  "You  paid  your  passage  to  be  taken  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  so  did  all  the  other  passengers.  Now  I  under- 
stand that  several  of  them  have  taken  passage  from  here  in 
other  vessels,  and  have  already  gone.  Tefc  you  are  the  only 
one  that  has  approached  me  to  ask  me  to  refund  a  portion 
of  the  passage  money.  I  will  not  refund  you  one  dollar,  for 
you  are  not  entitled  to  it.  There  is  the  ship;  you  can  stay 
on  her  until  she  reaches  her  destination,  but  if  you  want  to 
leave  her  I  can't  prevent  you.     As  to  your  wages,  I  will 


132  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

prove  to  you  that  I  am  an  honorable  gentleman;  I  will  give 
you  my  promissory  note  for  the  sixty  dollars  of  your  wages, 
made  payable  when  the  ship  arrives  in  San  Francisco."  As 
this  was  Hobson's  choice,  "'  take  that  or  get  nothing,"  I  ac- 
cepted his  offer.  He  desired  his  wife  to  draw  up  the  note 
at  his  dictation,  and  he  touched  the  pen  when  she  signed 
his  name.  Then  the  lady  handed  it  to  me.  I  received  it 
with  an  humble  bow. 

When  I  looked  at  him  and  saw  his  pale,  Wan  face  and 
languid  appearance,  I  wondered  to  myself  how  a  man  of  ro- 
bust build  and  combative  tendencies  like  him — one  that  had 
been  the  terror  of  sailors  on  board  of  ship — could,  after  all 
his  triumphs,  be  brought  so  low  by  the  hand  of  a  shadow  of 
a  man  who  had  just  risen  from  a  bed  of  an  almost  fatal 
tropical  fever.     Surely  how  true  the  old  adage  which  says: 

"  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly, 
But  they  grind  exceeding  fine." 

I  quickly  withdrew  with  a  prayer  in  my  heart  that  I  might 
never  meet  the  like  of  him  again,  and,  thank  God,  I  never 
have.  I  now  hurried  to  the  jetty  and  hired  a  boat  and  went 
on  board  the  ship  to  take  away  my  chest.  Here  another 
surprise  awaited  me.  The  sailor  Tom,  who  had  been  a 
prisoner  on  the  guard-ship,  had  just  been  returned  by  the 
same  boat  that  took  him  away,  and  a  bill  had  been  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  second  mate  that  demanded  payment  for 
his  detention  and  board,  which  would  have  to  be  paid  be- 
fore the  ship  would  be  allowed  to  leave  port.  I  told  Mr. 
Bryson  that  I  had  come  to  take  my  baggage  and  also  to  take 
leave  of  all  hands  on  board.  He  congratulated  me  and  said 
I  was  acting  wisely  and  wished  me  a  quick  and  safe  voyage 
to  the  land  of  gold.  As  I  was  about  to  leave  the  ship  Tom 
came  to  me  and  asked  me  to  let  him  go  ashore  with  me  in 
the  boat,  as  he  was  fully  determined  to  never  sail  another  mile 
in  that'ship.  I  told  him  I  would  be  only  too  glad  to  accom- 
modate^-^him  if  he  could  arrange  matters  with  Mr.  Bryson, 
who], was  in  charge  of  the  ship.  He  told  Mr.  Bryson  that  he 
had  served  just  four  months  from  the  first  day  he  came  on 
board    in   Philadelphia,  ,  and  had  been  paid  one  month's 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  133 

wages  the  day  before  we  left,  and  therefore  he  had  three 
months'  wages  due  to  him  which  he  woukl  donate  to  the 
captain  wherewith  to  buy  more  rum,  but  as  to  continuing  in 
the  ship,  he  would  not  do  it  even  if  he  was  offered  "  a  farm 
down  east "  at  the  end  of  the  voyage.  As  Mr.  Bryson  could 
not  enforce  his  authority,  Tom  bundled  his  bag  and  mat- 
tress into  the  boat,  and  taking  a  kindly  leave  of  every  man 
on  board,  we  left  the  ship  "Samson,"  never  to  set  foot  on 
her  again. 

We  reached  the  shore  and  engaged  two  Negroes  to  help 
us  to  take  our  baggage  to  the  nearest  sailor  boarding  house. 
We  were  directed  to  a  house  one  street  removed  from  the 
beach,  to  which  place  we  took  our  baggage.  It  was  kept  by 
a  Frenchman,  who  was  a  broad-shouldered,  good-natured 
looking  man.  When  we  entered  we  found  the  front  room  to 
be  the  eating  room  and  bar.  On  one  side  were  four  small 
tables;  on  the  opposite  side  was  the  bar.  He  directed  us  to 
put  our  baggage  in  the  next  room  back,  which  we  found  was 
arranged  on  one  side  with  berths,  the  same  as  on  board  of  a 
ship,  while  on  the  opposite  side  was  piled  the  boarders' 
baggage;  the  room  back  of  this  was  the  kitchen.  It  was 
now  four  o'clock,  and  the  landlord  told  us  that  the  dinner 
would  be  served  from  six  until  seven  o'clock — so  that,  as  we 
had  two  hours  in  which  to  look  around,  we  sallied  out.  As 
we  reached  the  street  Tom  opened  his  mind  to  me  thus: 
"I'll  tell  you  what  I  want  to  do;  I  want  to  get  a  chance  to 
work  my  passage  to  California  on  the  same  ship  that  you 
have  secured  a  berth  in,  and  I  want  you  to  show  the  captain 
to  me  when  he  comes  to  the  beach  to  go  aboard,  and  I'll  do 
the  rest."  Well,  as  this  was  a  reasonable  request  I  yielded, 
and  we  walked  down  towards  the  jetty  and  we  ensconced  our- 
selves where  Tom  could  not  be  seen,  and  there  watched  for 
the  gig  of  the  "  Urania." 

About  half-past  five  o'clock  I  descried  the  tall,  heavy 
form  of  Capt.  Buckland  approaching  the  landing.  He  was 
accompanied  by  a  lady,  who  I  afterwards  learned  was  his  wife, 
and  a  tall  youth  who  was  his  son.  Tom  urged  me  to  approach 
the  captain,   and  in  order  to  help  him  I  stepped  forward 


134  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

in  his  company.  We  saluted  the  captain  by  doffing  our  hats 
and  bidding  him  good  afternoon.  The  captain  recognized 
me,  and  I  then  introduced  Tom  to  him.  Tom  then  began 
with  the  persuasive  eloquence  that  comes  naturally  to  the 
people  of  his  country,  and  told  Capt.  Bnckland  that  having 
been  in  a  disagreeable  discussion  with  the  captain  of  the  ship 
in  which  he  arrived,  that  he  had  voluntarily  left  her,  and 
now  would  like  to  obtain  the  chance  to  work  for  his  passage 
to  San  Francisco  on  the  "Urania."  Capt.  Buckland  an- 
swered my  friend :  "I  have  already  engaged  to  give  this  man 
a  passage,"  pointing  to  me,  "  and  I  don't  think  I  can  make 
room  for  another."  "  Well,  captain,"  said  Tom,  "if  you'll 
give  me  a  chance,  sir,  you'll  find  that  I  am  an  able  seaman, 
and  I'll  give  ready  and  willing  service  during  the  voyage  and 
when  the  ship  arrives  in  San  Francisco  I'll  stay  by  her  and 
work  until  every  ton  of  cargo  is  out  of  her."  "Well,"  re- 
plied Capt.  Buckland,  "since  you  are  so  liberal  with  the 
ofi"er  of  your  service  I  will  confer  with  my  mate  to-night  and 
I'll  give  you  my  answer  to-morrow  morning  when  I  come 
ashore."  Tom  thanked  him  profusely,  and  we  withdrew,  and 
the  captain  entered  his  gig  and  was  pulled  off.  I  compli- 
mented Tom  for  his  persuasive  eloquence  and  predicted  that 
his  effort  would  be  successful. 

We  now  returned  to  the  boarding  house  and  seated  our- 
selves at  one  of  the  little  tables  to  eat  our  dinner.  It  con- 
sisted of  pottage  au  legume,  a  well-seasoned  ragout,  a  salad, 
good  bread,  a  bottle  of  indifferent  claret,  and  a  cup  of  rich 
coffee.  While  we  were  eating  Tom  recounted  his  experience 
on  board  the  guardship.  He  said  for  breakfast  he  was 
given  a  large  pannican  of  good  coffee  sweetened  with  brown 
sugar,  and  a  loaf  of  bread.  For  dinner  they  gave  him  a  tin 
dish  of  stew,  made  of  South  American  jerk-beef,  potatoes, 
carrots  and  peppers,  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  a  pannican  of  cof- 
fee. During  the  day  he  was  allowed  the  freedom  of  the 
deck,  but  within  certain  limits.  At.  night  he,  with  other 
sailor  prisoners,  was  locked  in  the  hold  of  the  guardship  and 
gratings  put  over  the  hatchways.  When  the  first  Friday  of 
his  confinement  arrived  and  he  declined  to  eat  meat  at  din- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  135 

ner,  the  guard  was  so  impressed  by  his  conduct  that  he 
quickly  brought  him  a  fine  dish  of  fresh  fish  from  his  own 
mess-table.  Other  sailors  that  were  brought  on  board  from 
time  to  time  were  taken  on  shore  or  discharged  in  a  day  or 
so,  but  he  was  detained  longer  than  any  one  else,  and  all 
severity  was  relaxed  in  his  case.  He  understood  that  the 
ship  is  held  responsible  for  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  a 
prisoner  sent  on  board  of  the  guardship.  As  nothing  had 
been  done  towards  prosecuting  him  the  order  came  to  the 
comandant  to  return  him  to  the  ship  and  to  present  the  bill 
for  the  expenses  incurred  in  his  case.  After  we  had  finished 
our  dinner,  being  very  tired  from  the  labor  and  excitement 
of  the  day,  we  retired  to  our  respective  berths,  and  I  soon 
became  oblivious  to  all  things  around  me  until  five  o'clock 
next  morning. 

At  five  o'clock  I  arose,  called  Tom,  and  after  washing 
ourselves  we  walked  to  the  market  place,  where  we  saw 
a  bewildering  display  of  vegetables  and  fruit  that  excelled 
anything  that  I  had  ever  seen  before.  Artichokes,  beans, 
cucumbers,  egg  plants,  lettuce,  okra,  sweet  potatoes,  yams 
and  other  kinds  too  numerous  to  speak  of.  Of  fruit  ban- 
anas, plantains,  limes,  oranges,  guavas,  pomegranates,  and 
many,  many  others.  Poultry  in  coops;  fish  dripping  from 
the  ocean.  To  sum  it  all  up  it  was  grand.  It  was  easy  to 
see  that  dame  nature  was  lavish  in  her  gifts  to  the  people  of 
this  favored  land.  The  fountain  was  throwing  out  its  beau- 
tiful stream  of  water  which  fell  back  into  the  capacious 
granite  basin,  cooling  the  air,  and  which  imparted  energy 
and  activity  to  every  living  creature  within  its  scope. 

We  returned  to  the  boarding  house,  and  at  eight  o'clock 
we  were  served  with  breakfast  of  mutton  chops  flavored  with 
limes,  fried  potatoes,  fried  plantains,  baker's  rolls,  and  cof- 
fee. After  breakfast  Tom  admonished  the  good  French- 
man that  if  any  one  came  to  the  house  to  inquire  about  him 
to  say  that  he  didn't  know  anything  about  him.  We  then 
went  down  to  the  landing  and  while  Tom  kept  himself  per 
due  near  by,  I  was  on  the  lookout  for  the  arrival  of  Capt. 
Buckland. 


136  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

About  half-past  nine  o'clock  I  spied  the  captain's  gig  ap- 
proaching the  landing  and  at  once  informed  Tom  of  the  fact. 
When  the  gig  arrived  at  the  jetty  Capt.  Buckland  jumped 
out,  followed  by  his  son,  and  the  two  waited  for  Mrs.  Buck- 
land  to  land.  Tw^o  of  the  men  from  the  boat  followed  the 
captain,  presumably  to  collect  the  marketing  for  the  day. 
We  now  neared  the  captain,  and  he  soon  spied  us  and  mo- 
tioned us  to  advance.  We  hastened  to  him,  hats  in  hand, 
and  bade  him  good  morning.  He  said  to  Tom  that  as  he 
found  that  he  was  so  anxious  and  also,  apparently,  capable, 
he  had  determined  to  take  him.  This  anxiously  desired 
answer  so  much  pleased  Tom  that  it  set  him  in  a  tremor  of 
joy  and  excitement.  The  captain  bade  us  both  to  be  on 
board  by  £ve  o'clock  the  following  morning  as  he  would  get 
under  way  early  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the  land  breeze 
to  get  out  of  the  harbor. 

After  we  parted  from  the  captain  I  said  to  Tom  that  as 
he  desired  seclusion  while  we  remained  in  Eio,  for  fear  of 
any  more  trouble  with  Capt.  Blanchard,  that  the  most  fea- 
sible way  was  to  go  out  to  the  public  garden — which  was 
something  more  than  a  mile  from  the  city — and  pass  the  day 
there  viewing  the  grand  collection  of  plants  and  flowers, 
fruits  and  trees  of  the  tropical  climes.  He  gladly  agreed  to 
my  proposition  and  we  started  at  once.  As  we  were  walk- 
ing along  we  came  to  a  baker  shop  and  there  bought  a  loaf 
of  bread,  which  I  tied  up  in  my  bandana  handkerchief.  We 
walked  along  and  passed  by  many  magnificent  villas  having 
extensive  grounds  lined  with  shaded  walks  and  flower  plats. 
When  we  came  in  view  of  the  public  gardens  we  met  a  large 
number  of  Negresses  going  into  the  city,  each  one  carrying 
a  large  round  basket  made  of  rushgrass,  and  it  filled — some 
had  oranges,  while  others  had  bananas.  We  bought  bananas 
for  one  hundred  reis — about  ten  cents  American  money — 
which  afforded  us  a  large  supply  for  the  day. 

We  arrived  at  the  gardens  and  were  admitted  by  the 
Brazilian  gatekeeper.  He  asked  us  what  we  had  in  our  bun- 
dles, and  we  told  him.  He  said  we  must  leave  them  at  the 
lodge  as  it  was  forbidden  to  take  them  into  the  garden.     We 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  137 

at  once  resigned  our  bundles  to  him,  and  he  told  us  to  come 
for  them  whenever  we  desired  and  we  could  go  out  into  the 
roadway  and  sit  under  the  shade  of  the  road  trees  and  eat 
our  merienda,  as  he  called  it.  We  found  the  public  gardens 
to  be  a  most  instructive  and  edifying  horticultural  school. 
Here  we  saw  growing  in  all  its  native  luxuriance  coffee,  tea, 
nutmeg,  allspice,  pineapples,  mangoes,  guavas,  and  other 
tropical  and  semi-tropical  fruits.  Here  we  saw  the  India- 
rubber  tree  in  all  its  native  luxuriance.  As  to  flowers — they 
were  in  variety  beyond  enumeration — suffice  it  to  say,  if  you 
ever  heard  of  a  flower  it  could  be  found  there,  with  one  ex- 
ception: that  was  the  little  flower  called  the  snowdrop. 
About  noon  we  went  to  the  lodge,  took  our  bread  and  fruit 
and  passed  into  the  road,  sat  down  under  an  umbrageous 
tree  and  ate  our  frugal  luncheon,  with  a  relish  born  of  health- 
ful appetite.  Tom  expressed  himself  as  being  very  happy 
with  the  prospect  of  going  so  soon  to  sea  again,  and  still 
more  happy  at  getting  free  from  the  "Samson"  and  Capt. 
Blanchard. 

As  I  shall,  after  this,  have  no  occasion  to  refer  to  the  ship 
"  Samson,"  or  to  Capt.  Blanchard  again,  I  will  here  give  a 
narration  of  what  took  place  on  the  ship  and  what  became  of 
the  captain. 

About  six  months  after  my  arrival  in  San  Francisco  the 
ship  "Samson"  arrived,  making  the  passage  from  Phila- 
delphia in  three  hundred  and  eighty-two  days.  The  passen- 
gers told  me  that  after  the  ship  sailed  from  Rio  de  Janeiro 
that  she  became  a  veritable  pandemonium.  The  captain 
quarreled  with  his  crew.  He  quarreled  with  his  passengers, 
even  to  fistic  encounters:  confusion  reigned  on  the  ship;  the 
cargo  was  broached  to  obtain  more  liquor,  and  everything 
that  could  add  to  their  misery  took  place.  They  were  obliged 
to  put  into  Valparaiso  in  order  to  replenish  the  ship's  stores. 
And  after  the  unprecedented  long  passage  they  were  glad 
beyond  the  power  of  expression  to  place  their  feet  on  shore 
in  the  land  of  promise. 

In  about  eight  months  after  my  arrival,  young  Brainard 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  and  came  to  see  me.     He  said  he 

11 


138  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

staid  by  his  brother  until  his  trial,  conviction,  and  sentence 
of  three  years  at  the  quarries — which  penal  establishment  is 
down  the  harbor  at  one  of  the  islands.  The  good  lawyer 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost,  and  by  his  exertions  in  repre- 
senting Capt.  Blanchard,  who  was  at  the  trial,  in  his  true 
colors  as  a  brutal  and  unscrupulous  tyrant,  he  secured  a 
sentence  of  comparatively  short  confinement. 

After  his  brother  was  taken  to  the  quarries — by  the  ad- 
vice of  the  lawyer  and  by  his  aid — he  begged  an  audience 
with  the  Emperor.  When  he  was  ushered  into  the  royal 
presence,  he  threw  himself  upon  his  knees,  at  which  the 
good  and  kind  Emperor  said  to  him :  "  Rise  up,  young  man, 
don't  kneel  to  me.  Now  tell  me  what  your  desire  is  ?  "  Then 
the  youth  recounted  to  the  Emperor  the  history  of  all  his 
mishaps  from  the  time  his  father's  throat  was  cut  until  his 
brother's  trial  and  conviction.  The  Emperor  said  that  it 
seemed  that  he  had  been  the  victim  of  a  concatenation  of 
unfortunate  circumstances  which  had  now  culminated  in 
branding  his  brother  a  felon.  All  that  he  could  do  would 
be  to  promise — in  case  he  learned  of  his  brother's  good  con- 
duct for  the  next  six  months — he  would  grant  a  pardon  so 
that  he  again  might  enter  into  active  life  after  a  salutary  les- 
son by  a  short  imprisonment.  He  then  withdrew  from  the 
royal  presence,  and  arranged  with  the  lawyer  for  his  dues  to 
be  paid  to  his  authorized  agent  in  San  Francisco. 

I  obtained  my  goods  from  the  ship,  and  paid  the  freight 
to  the  agents,  Guildermeister,  De  Fremery  &  Co.,  and  turned 
the  captain's  note  in  part  payment. 

The  very  last  I  ever  heard  about  Capt.  Blanchard  was 
through  Tom,  the  sailor.  A  ship  brought  here  the  bulk  of 
a  forty-ton  sloop,  constructed  in  Williamsburg,  Long  Island. 
She  was  modeled,  set  up,  and  numbered  in  the  frame  and 
planks,  and  then  taken  apart,  brought  around  Cape  Horn, 
and  put  together  in  San  Francisco,  at  the  junction  of  First 
and  Market  streets — which  was  the  margin  of  the  bay  at 
that  time.  She  was  named  the  "  San  Jose."  She  was  one 
of  three  vessels  that  could  reach  the  Alviso  landing;  and  as 
Santa  Clara  valley  supplied  San  Francisco  with  nearly  all 


A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans.  139 

the  oat  hay,  these  three  vessels  were  coining  money.  Well, 
Tom  was  on  the  sloop  "San  Jose,"  and  she  was  lying  at  a 
little  wharf  called  Howison  wharf,  at  the  foot  of  Sacramento 
street,  when  one  afternoon  he  was  accosted  by  a  tall,  cor- 
pulent man,  whom  he  recognized  as  Capt.  Blanchard. 

Said  the  captain:  "  My  man,  if  you  will  take  your  yawl 
boat  and  scull  me  off  to  that  ship  yonder,  I  will  pay  you." 

Tom  recognized  Capt.  Blanchard,  and  answered,  "  I  will 
take  you  for  nothing,  and  when  I  get  you  well  out  in  the 
harbor,  I'll  throw  you  overboard  to  Davy  Jones,  who,  I 
know,  will  give  you  a  warm  welcome." 

The  captain  was  astounded  with  this  rude  reception,  and 
replied:  "  What  do  you  mean  by  such  insolence  to  me,  a 
stranger?'"'  "No,"  said  Tom,  "you  are  not  a  stranger  to 
me.  I  am  Tom,  the  sailor  who  you  put  on  board  the  guard- 
ship  in  Rio,  because  I  wouldn't  let  you  bullyrag  me  on  board 
of  your  ship.  Now,  we  stand  here  to-day  as  equals,  and 
you  are  a  great  overgrown  bully,  and  if  you'll  stand  up  here 
like  a  man,  I'll  knock  your  blooming  mug  into  the  shape  of 
an  Admiral's  cocked-hat,  in  the  twinkling  of  a  marling 
spike."  Capt.  Blanchard,  just  then,  remembered  that  when 
a  school  boy  he  had  read  in  his  lesson  that  "discretion  is 
th)  better  part  of  valor,"  and,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life, 
he  thought  it  was  an  admirable  maxim,  and  acted  upon  it 
forthwith,  by  walking  rapidly  to  a  part  of  the  beach  where 
he  was  less  known  and  would  be  better  served. 

About  two  weeks  after  this  occurrence  I  saw  in  the  "  Alta 
California"  newspaper  that  the  ship  "Samson,"  Capt. 
Blanchard,  had  sailed  with  passengers  for  Realejo  in  the 
Gulf  of  Tehu  an  tepee,  from  whence  they  were  going  to  cross 
the  land  to  the  Atlantic  side  and  there  take  ship  for  their 
New  England  homes.  I  never  heard  again  about  Capt. 
Blanchard  or  his  fortunes. 

About  eighteen  months  afterwards  a  man  came  to  my 
place  of  business  one  day  and  asked  if  I  still  knew  him.  I 
acknowledged  that  I  did  not.  He  then  told  me  that  he  was 
the  brother  of  young  Brainard,  and  also  told  me  that  after 
he  had  served  a  period  of  six  months  at  the  penal  quarries, 


140  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

the  good  Emperor  had  issued  a  pardon  and  he  had  been  set 
free.  He  then  shipped  on  a  vessel  that  had  put  into  Rio  by 
stress  of  weather,  and  she  becoming  short  of  hands  he  had 
shipped  in  her  and  had  just  arrived  in  San  Francisco.  Afier 
three  months  in  the  northern  mines  around  Nevada,  Grass 
Valley  and  Eongh  and  Ready,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco 
and  shipped  in  a  vessel  bound  for  Iquique,  Peru,  there  to 
load  with  nitrate  for  Europe. 

This  completes  the  list  of  all  persons  on  the  "  Samson," 
with  one  exception,  and  he  the  best  of  them  all — good  old 
liryson,  who  worked  on  the  beach  in  lighters,  taking  cargoes 
from  ships  in  the  harbor  and  putting  the  goods  in  store  ships 
which  laid  near  the  shore.  And  I  hope  and  trust  that  he 
made  his  way  to  his  family  in  Philadelphia  with  a  light  heart 
and  a  heavy  purse. 

Now  we  will  return  to  my  story,  or  as  the  Frenchmen 
say,  "I'eve^ions  a  nos  moutons." 

Well,  after  we  had  eaten  our  luncheon  of  bread  and 
bananas,  we  returned  into  the  garden  and  there  had  a  drink 
of  pure  water,  for  which  Rio  is  noted.  In  the  garden  was 
a  building,  the  upper  portion  of  which  was  a  museum  con- 
taining zoological  and  ichthyological  specimens  as  well  as 
conchology.  We  ascended  the  stairs,  which  landed  us  at  a 
balcony.  We  essayed  to  go  into  the  museum,  but  while  the 
attendant  allowed  me  to  enter  he  denied  Tom  the  privilege. 
I  begged  to  know  the  reason  why  he  repelled  my  friend,  and 
he  answered  that  it  was  because  my  friend  was  not  wearing 
a  jacket.  He  then  explained  to  me  that  while  all  persons 
were  allowed  to  enter  the  garden,  the  regulations  required 
that  every  man  who  entered  the  museum  must  wear  a  jacket. 
He  said  that  the  rule  was  vigorously  enforced,  and  while  he 
was  sorry  to  deny  my  friend  the  privilege  of  entering  the 
museum,  the  infraction  of  the  rule  would  cost  him  his  situ- 
ation. As  my  friend,  Tom,  had  an  inner  shirt  and  an  outer 
one  called  a  jumper,  the  wearing  of  a  jacket  was  considered 
superfluous.  As  it  was  Tom  was  not  permitted  to  go  in,  so 
I  declined  to  enter;  we  descended  the  stairs,  and  as  it  was 
four  o'clock  we  started  back  towards  the  city. 


A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans.  141 

As  strange  as  the  rule  seemed  to  be,  I  afterwards  ex- 
perienced something  just  as  inexplicable  and  fully  as  ridicu- 
lous while  1  was  in  Liverpool,  England.  One  afternoon  a 
party  of  us,  including  three  ladies,  were  walking  around  in 
Liverpool,  and  we  went  to  visit  a  place  called  Brown's  Li- 
brary and  Museum,  which  had  been  established  by  a  wealthy 
merchant.  We  had  been  advised  to  do  so  by  the  landlord 
of  the  Victoria  Hotel,  as  it  was  a  place  worthy  of  a  visit, 
and  as  the  admission  was  free.  We  presented  ourselves  at 
the  entrance  and  as  we  were  about  to  pass  in  the  doorkeejier 
espied  the  parasols  in  the  ladies'  hands  and  at  once  de- 
manded that  they  should  leave  them  in  his  custody  while 
they  remained  in  the  building.  Two  of  the  ladies  imme- 
diately yielded  up  their  sunshades,  but  the  third  lady,  who 
was  more  self-asserting  than  her  American  sisters,  peremp- 
torily refused.  The  doorkeeper  said  that  was  one  of  the 
regulations  of  that  institution  and  he  must  enforce  it.  The 
lady  retorted  that  she  had  no  intention  of  punching  a  hole 
through  the  pictures,  nor  of  secreting  any  of  the  curiosities 
in  her  parasol,  but  while  she  would  have  to  deny  herself  the 
pleasure  of  entering  Brown's  Library  and  Museum,  she 
would  have  the  satisfaction  of  keeping  her  parasol  in  her 
own  hands.  So  that  on  account  of  the  lady's  obstinacy  we 
were  obliged  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  entering  Brown's  Li- 
brary and  Museum.  This  episode  proved  the  truth  of  the 
old  adage,  which  says: 

"  When  a  woman  will,  she  will,  you  may  depend  on't; 
But  when  she  won't,  she  won't,  and  that's  an  end  on't." 

This  shows  that  different  countries  have  their  own  pecu- 
liar customs.  If  you  go  to  Germany,  you  are  obliged  to  re- 
port to  the  police  authorities  and  tell  them  from  whence  you 
come,  what  is  your  business,  what  is  your  age  and  how  long 
you  propose  to  stay,  and  more  than  that,  what  your  religion 
is.  In  all  my  travels  I  have  not  found  any  country  that  af- 
fords the  freedom  of  action  that  equals  that  which  is  allowed 
in  the  United  States.  Here  a  man  is  allowed  to  pursue  his 
bent  freely,  without  trammel  or  restraint. 


142  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

As  we  approaclied  the  city  after  our  day  of  seclusion  in 
the  garden,  Tom  became  apprehensive  of  some  trap  being 
laid  to  detain  him,  but  we  arrived  at  our  boarding-house 
unmolested  and  the  landlord  told  Tom  that  there  had  not 
been  any  one  to  inquire  about  him.  We  took  our  dinner  of 
gumbo  soup,  roast  mutton  and  green  peas,  with  watered 
claret  and  coffee.  After  our  long  day  we  were  tired  enough 
to  turn  into  our  berths,  as  we  would  have  to^rise  at  half-past 
four  o'clock  the  next  morning.  Before  we  retired  I  asked 
the  landlord  how  I  could  engage  a  Negro  to  help  to  take  my 
chest  to  the  landing  so  early  the  next  morning,  and  he 
kindly  told  me  that  he  would  have  two  Negroes  at  haud  to 
do  it  at  a  small  cost. 

I  slept  very  lightly  during  the  night  from  very  gladness 
for  having  escaped  from  the  long  detention  to  which  I  knew 
the  "Samson"  would  be  subjected,  and  besides  the  un- 
pleasant associations  that  were  connected  with  the  ship  and 
her  captain.  The  next  morning  I  arose  at  half-past  four 
o'clock.  I  called  Tom  and  we  prepared  ourselves  to  go 
aboard  of  the  "  Urania."  The  landlord  kindly  furnished  us 
coffee  and  bread,  and  the  two  Negroes  were  at  hand  to  help 
carry  our  baggage  to  the  beach.  We  took  leave  of  the  good 
landlord  and  started  for  the  beach  with  our  baggage.  We 
engaged  a  boat  and  arrived  alongside  the  "  Urania"  at  half- 
past  five  o'clock.  I  went  up  on  deck  and  made  myself  known 
to  the  mate,  who  told  me  to  get  my  dunnage  on  deck  and 
then  myself  and  Tom  should  turn  to  work  and  lend  a  hand 
to  get  the  ship  under  way.  I  took  my  jacket  off  at  once, 
and  after  getting  our  baggage  on  deck  and  having  settled 
with  the  boatman,  we  at  once  placed  ourselves  at  the  mate's 
service. 

The  first  order  that  I  received  was  to  lay  aloft  and  loose 
the  maintopsail  and  overhaul  the  gear.  I  sprung  up  the 
main  rigging  with  a  vim  that  was  born  of  delight  at  my  de- 
liverance. The  anchor  had  already  been  hove  short  and  in 
a  few  minutes,  everything  being  ready,  the  order  was  given 
to  trip  the  anchor,  the  jib  was  hoisted  and  the  ship  began  to 
swing.     After  the  three  topsails  were  set,  the  land  breeze 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  143 

having  sprung  up,  we  had  a  fair  wind  right  out  of  the  har- 
bor. Every  available  sail  was  now  set  and  the  ship  passed 
down  the  harbor,  leaving  Forts  Santa  Cruz  and  San  Juan 
behind  us.  Here  I  was  once  more  on  my  way  to  California 
after  having  been  detained  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  from  December 
20th,  1849,  to  January  22d,  1850. 

After  the  ship  was  under  way  the  order  was  passed  along 
for  the  crew  to  take  their  breakfast.  I  had  been  so  busy 
that  I  hadn't  time  to  look  about  me.  But  when  breakfast 
was  ordered  to  be  eaten  some  members  of  the  crew  came  to 
Tom  and  myself  and  welcomed  us  on  board  the  ' '  Urania, " 
and  told  us  that  they  hoped  that  we  would  find  that  we  had 
made  a  good  change.  We  then  went  down  into  the  fore- 
castle, and  as  I  had  neither  tin  pot  for  coffee  nor  pan  to  eat 
out  of,  one  of  the  crew  kindly  furnished  me  with  them.  Our 
first  breakfast  on  board  the  "Urania"  consisted  of  fried 
fresh  beef,  boiled  potatoes,  pilot  bread  and  coffee.  After 
breakfast  Tom  and  myself  took  our  baggage  and  put  it  down 
into  the  forecastle,  and  as  I  had  no  mattress,  and  the  berths 
being  already  occupied,  two  of  the  crew,  who  were  in  the 
different  watches,  very  kindly  agreed  to  occupy  the  same 
berth  alternately,  and  the  berth  that  was  thereby  vacated 
was  assigned  to  Tom  and  myself.  The  chief  mate  sent  for 
Tom  and  me  and  we  went  aft  in  obedience  to  his  order.  He 
told  us  that  the  ship  was  full  of  passengers,  many  of  whom 
had  never  seen  salt  water  before  they  came  on  board  the 
ship  in  Boston,  and  therefore  were  ignorant  of  the  usages 
prevailing  on  board  of  a  ship  at  sea.  He  admonished  us 
against  indulging  in  any  familiarity  or  in  any  manner  offer- 
ing any  affront  to  any  of  them.  He  then  told  Tom  that  he 
would  take  him  into  his  watch,  and  he  would  assign  me  to 
the  second  mate's  watch. 

After  our  anchors  were  stowed  and  lashed  and  the  chain 
lowered  into  the  chain-locker,  we  were  ordered  to  put  on 
the  chafing  gear  and  to  make  everything  snug.  Whereas  the 
ship  that  I  had  just  left  had  thirty-one  passengers,  this  one 
that  I  had  just  come  aboard  of  seemed  to  have  more  than 
one  hundred,  and  the  deck  appeared  to  be  swarming  with 


144  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

men.  We  were  kept  busy  until  twelve  o'clock,  at  which 
time  we  were  knocked  off  from  work  for  dinner.  Our  first 
dinner  on  board  the  "Urania"  consisted  of  soup  in  which 
had  been  boiled  a  good  portion  of  beef,  with  an  abundance 
of  vegetables;  then  we  had  boiled  potatoes,  plain  and  sweet, 
and  hard  bread.  As  I  was  very  hungry  and  very  light 
hearted  I  ate  my  fill  with  a  thankful  heart,  because  I  was 
again  on  my  journey  to  my  destination. 

I  will  now  describe  the  ship.  The  "Urania"  was  a  six- 
hundred  tons  ship  of  modern  model,  sharp  forward  with 
flaring  bow,  flat  on  her  floor,  and  a  fine,  clean  run.  She 
was  a  dry  ship  at  sea,  for  when  a  sea  struck  her  forward  the 
spread  of  her  bow  was  such  that  the  spray  was  thrown  out- 
ward. When  she  was  close  hauled  on  the  wind  she  would 
go  through  the  water,  but  she  was  so  flat  that  she  didn't 
hold  on,  but  made  a  great  deal  of  leeway;  but  when  running 
free  she  went  like  a  scared  dog.  She  could  knock  the  socks 
off  of  anything  that  she  came  alongside  of.  As  a  seaboat 
she  was  nothing  to  brag  about.  She  was  so  flat  on  the  floor 
that  when  the  wind  was  abeam  and  a  heavy  sea  running  she 
would  roll  to  leeward  and  then  come  back  all  standing  with 
a  slat  and  shock  that  would  throw  a  man  aloft  right  out  of 
the  rigging.  When  she  was  hove  to  in  a  gale  she  would 
drift  to  the  leeward  so  fast  that  a  pint  of  water  couldn't  get 
aboard  of  her.  She  was  nearly  new  and  as  tight  as  a  cup. 
So  it  will  be  seen  that  I  was  on  board  of  a  fine  ship. 

The  captain  hailed  from  the  right  arm  of  the  Old  Bay 
State — a  man  of  imposing  mien,  and,  as  I  learned  during 
the  voyage,  a  gentleman  of  very  few  words. 

The  chief  mate,  named  Ingraham,  from  Khode  Island, 
kept  himself  on  the  quarter-deck  and  attended  strictly  to 
the  sailing  of  the  ship. 

The  second  mate,  named  Mulroony,  was  from  Nova 
Scotia,  and  an  active  and  very  ambitious  young  man. 

On  board  of  a  ship,  when  topsails  are  to  be  reefed,  the 
place  of  honor  is  the  weather  yardarm,  and  this  position  is 
always  accorded  by  courtesy  to  the  second  mate;  but  when 
he  is  disliked  some  one  of  the  young  sailors  will  run  up  the 


'    A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans  145 

rigging  for  dear  life,  like  a  cat,  and  take  the  coveted  position 
at  the  weather  ear-ring  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  second 
mate;  but  Mr.  Mulroony  didn't  allow  any  such  outgeneral- 
ing, for  he  was  always  there  himself. 

The  crew  of  twelve  men.  I  found,  had  been  mostly  in 
coasting  vessels,  and  therefore  were  not  square-riggers,  with 
two  or  three  exceptions.  But  they  were  pleasant  and  very 
agreeable  companions  in  the  forecastle.  The  steward  and 
the  cooks  were  of  the  most  ordinary  kind. 

There  was  a  man  on  board  whom  they  called  the  ship's 
doctor.  The  way  this  came  about  was  thus:  In  fitting 
out  a  passenger  ship  for  California  a  great  stress  was  laid 
upon  the  sanitary  needs  of  the  passengers  while  they  were 
on  such  a  long  voyage  of  six  months  or  upwards.  For  that 
reason  the  agent  of  passenger  ships  would,  as  an  inducement 
to  intending  passengers,  insert  in  their  advertisements  in 
the  newspapers,  "A  competent  physician  is  engaged  to  go 
on  the  ship  to  attend  to  the  sanitary  needs  of  the  passen- 
gers." This  announcement  would,  of  course,  have  great 
weight  in  inducing  persons  to  take  passage  on  that  ship,  but 
the  physician  would  often  prove  upon  trial  to  have  been  an 
apothecary's  clerk,  and  his  knowledge  of  medicine  would  be 
limited  to  his  ability  to  compound  a  prescription.  Such 
an  one,  I  understand,  was  the  "Doctor"  on  board  the 
"Urania."  It  seems  that  he  had  been  a  clerk  with  an 
apothecary  in  a  neighboring  town,  and  having  been  inspired 
with  a  desire  to  go  to  the  land  of  gold,  had  embraced  the 
chance  oflFered  to  him  to  sign  as  "Doctor"  on  board  the 
"  Urania."  Thus,  with  more  than  one  hundred  passengers 
and  more  than  twenty  men  of  the  ship's  crew,  he  found  him- 
self with  a  numerous  clientage,  and  therefore  a  man  of  im- 
portance. 

The  passengers  were  of  the  true  New  England  type, 
strong,  active  and  intelligent.  They  were  men  that  had 
been  engaged  in  such  industries  as  are  known  to  New  Eng- 
landers — traders,  carpenters,  stonecutters  from  Quinc}^ 
lumbermen,  and  a  large  number  of  small  farmers,  many  of 
whom  had  passed  beyond  the  meridian  of  the  journey  of 

12 


146  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

life  on  their  small,  comfortable  farms,  working  indus- 
triously, living  frugally  but  comfortably,  and  now,  having 
been  enticed  by  the  seductive  stories  of  the  lavish  wealth  in 
California  awaiting  the  simple  effort  of  the  adventurer  to 
yield  itself  up  into  his  hands,  he  had  left  his  family  to  man- 
age the  little  farm  while  he  sailed  to  California,  from  whence 
he  would  return  with  untold  riches,  when  he  would  settle 
down  to  enjoy  complete,  unalloyed  happiness,  a  condition 
that  has  never  yet  been  attained  by  man.  "  Man  never  is 
but  always  to  be  blessed." 

The  passengers  were  called  the  first  cabin  and  second 
cabin  passengers.  The  first  cabin  passengers  were  those  in 
the  cabin  proper.  The  second  cabin  passengers — who  com- 
posed a  community  of  ninety  or  more  persons — were  located 
in  the  'tween  decks  of  the  ship,  which  had  been  fitted  up 
with  berths  and  tables  for  that  purpose.  The  forward  house 
was  divided  into  galley,  forward  part,  and  passengers'  quar- 
ters in  its  after  part.  On  the  top  of  the  forward  house  was 
an  immense  longboat,  which  was  turned  over  and  covered 
with  a  canvas  jacket.  Taking  it  altogether  the  ship — al- 
though somewhat  crowded — was  far  superior  to  the  one 
which  I  had  left. 

At  one  o'clock  all  hands  were  turned  out  to  work  and 
make  everything  snug  for  sea.  The  chains  were  unshackled 
from  the  anchors  and  lowered  into  the  chain  lockers.  The 
water  casks  were  lashed,  the  fresh  provisions  stowed  away, 
and  the  decks  cleared  up. 

Towards  evening  the  breeze  began  to  freshen  and  the 
ship  moved  ahead  with  good  speed.  She  was  so  sharp  for- 
ward that  she  didn't  make  the  swash  that  attended  the  move- 
ment of  the  last  ship. 

At  five  o'clock  all  hands  were  knocked  off  for  supper,  and 
from  that  time  until  eight  bells,  or  eight  o'clock,  we  had 
nothing  more  to  do  than  attend  to  the  sheets  and  braces. 

At  eight  bells  the  watches  were  set,  and  the  second  mate, 
into  whose  watch  I  had  been  assigned,  had  the  first  watch. 
The  men  of  our  watch  drew  straws  as  to  who  should  take 
the  first  trick  at  the  wheel,  and  it  fell  to  me,  as  I  had  drawn 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  147 

the  shortest  straw.  I  went  aft  and  relieved  the  man  at  the 
wheel,  and  steered  the  ship  for  two  hours,  when  I  was  re- 
lieved by  one  of  my  watch-mates. 

While  1  was  at  the  wheel  the  second  mate,  Mr.  Mul- 
roouy,  asked  me  how  I  came  to  be  adrift  in  Rio  ?  I  replied 
that  I  had  not  been  adrift.  I  then  told  him  that  I  had  en- 
gaged my  passage  on  the  ship  "  Samson  "  to  go  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  how,  by  a  concatenation  of  unfortunate  circum- 
stances, the  ship  was  detained,  and  would  probably  con- 
tinue in  Rio  at  least  three  months  longer.  As  soon  as  he 
found  that  I  was  not  a  renegade  adventurer,  he  treated  me 
very  kindly,  and  during  the  voyage  had  many  conversations 
with  me,  which  I  will  relate  further  on. 

As  I  went  forward  my  watch-mate  told  me  about  the  cap- 
tain and  the  mates;  saying  that  the  captain  had  been  a  suc- 
cessful whaleman  who  had  retired  on  his  well-earned  com- 
petency, but  had  been  lured  by  the  marvelous  stories  of  the 
newspapers  about  the  gold  fields  of  California,  to  go  out 
there,  like  thousands  of  others,  and  add  a  few  more  thous- 
ands of  dollars  to  his  already  ample  store. 

The  first  mate,  they  told  me,  was  a  silent  and  strictly  at- 
tentive man  to  his  duties. 

The  second  mate,  in  whose  watch  we  were,  was  a  bustling, 
mercurial  character,  that  was  always  on  the  jump,  and  al- 
ways on  the  go. 

I  found  that  there  were  several  other  ladies  on  board  be- 
sides the  wife  of  the  captain,  who  had  left  home  and  friends 
to  accompany  their  husbands  on  the  perilous  journey  to  the 
newly  acquired  territory,  there  to  found  a  new  State,  and 
thus  to  place  another  star  in  the  azure  field  of  our  country's 
flag. 

*'  A  union  of  seas  and  union  of  lands, 
A  union  of  States  none  can  sever; 
A  union  of  hearts  and  union  of  hands, 

And  the  flag  of  our  Union  for  ever,  ever,  ever; 
And  the  flag  of  our  Union  for  ever." 

At  eight  bells  the  larboard  watch  was  called,  and  we  were 
relieved  for  the  next  four  hours.     When  we  went  below  I 


148  A  Tale  or  Two  Oceans. 

turned  into  the  berth  that  had  been  assigned  to  Tom  and 
myself,  and  slept  a  profound,  restful  sleep. 

At  eight  bells,  or  four  o'clock,  our  watch  was  again  called 
on  deck,  at  which  time  the  cooks  also  went  on  duty  for  the 
day. 

At  five  o'clock  we  were  given  a  tin  pannicken  of  coffee 
each,  with  which  we  ate  a  cake  of  hard  bread;  after  which 
we  turned  to  work  to  wash  the  deck;  and  thus  was  the 
routine  work  from  day  to  day,  when  the  weather  would  per- 
mit, during  the  voyage. 

When  we  had  been  four  days  at  sea  we  caught  a  large 
shark,  a  regular  man-eater,  that  had  been  following  the  ship 
and  showing  its  fins  above  water.  This  is  always  construed 
by  sailors  as  an  omen  of  death,  as  they  are  said  to  follow  a 
ship  on  which  some  fatality  is  to  occur.  The  weather  now 
became  squally,  and  thunder  and  lightning,  with  a  copious 
fall  of  rain,  kept  us  busy  shortening  sail. 

It  was  now  January  28th,  our  position  was  lat.  27  11  S., 
long.  44  05  W.  The  weather  had  now  cleared  up,  and  tbe 
wind  was  nor'west,  off  the  land. 

I  discovered  that  the  passengers  were  imbued  with  true 
religious  fervor,  which,  no  doubt,  they  had  inherited  from 
their  puritan  ancestors,  being  transmitted  from  the  days  of 
the  landing  on  Plymouth  "Rock  to  the  present  time. 

"  Aye!  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  spot  which  first  they  trod; 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 
Freedom  to  worship  God." 

They  held  religious  meetings,  in  which  each  one  related  his 
spiritual  aspirations,  and  delivered  exhortations  on  the 
necessity  of  self-watchfulness  to  preserve  each  one  from  the 
commission  of  sin. 

January  29th  the  wind  had  so  much  increased  that  the 
order  was  given  to  "shorten  sail."  This  went  on  until  the 
topsails  were  double  reefed,  and  she  was  put  under  reefed 
foresail,  reefed  mainsail  and  jib,  foretopmast  staysail  and 
reefed  spanker.  When  we  were  reefing  the  square  sails  Mr. 
Mulroony  didn't  allow  his  prestige  to  wane;  for  he  was  at 
the  weather  ear-ring  every  time. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  149 

We  now  heard  that  a  young  passenger  in  the  second 
cabin  was  very  sick  from  tropical  fever.  I  learned  that  he 
had  a  brother  on  board  who,  with  others  of  their  fellow- 
passengers,  were  assiduously  ministering  to  his  wants.  They 
came  from  the  State  of  Maine,  and  had  left  their  parents 
with  light  hearts  and  brilliant  expectations.  Now  one  of 
them  was  stricken  down  by  a  most  malignant  disease.  Per- 
haps, at  that  very  hour,  when  the  absent  son  is  suffering 
from  the  burning  fever,  the  fond  mother,  sitting  by  her 
lonely  fireside,  may  be  repeating  the  mournful  lines : 

"  My  darling  boys  now  severed  far  from  me, 
By  many  a  weary  league  of  land  and  sea." 

Bat  such  are  the  vicissitudes  of  life;  the  boy  must  leave  the 
parental  home  to  fight  the  battle  of  life,  and  to  conquer  or 
to  fall,  when  it  is  so  ordered  by  the  divine  Ruler. 

February  2d  we  were  informed  that  the  young  invalid 
was  rapidly  sinking  under  the  pressuie  of  the  terrible  sick- 
ness. While  he  would  turn  his  eyes  upon  his  brother  and 
sympathizing  comrades,  a  sigh  would  escape  from  his  sad- 
dened breast: 

"  Who  to  dumb  forgetfulness  a  prey, 

This  pleasing,  anxious  being,  e'er  resigned; 
Left  the  warm  precincts  of  the  cheerful  day. 
Nor  cast  one  longing,  lingering  look  behind." 

On  the  following  day  the  sad  news  spread  over  the  ship 
that  the  poor  young  man  had  died ;  had  yielded  up  his  spirit 
to  Him  who  gave  it.  As  one  of  his  comrades  repeated: 
"  He  has  gone  to  that  undiscovered  country  from  whose 
bourne  no  traveler  returns." 

The  body  of  the  dead  man  was  at  once  brought  on  deck, 
his  bedding  thrown  overboard,  and  the  'tween  decks  was 
fumigated,  to  prevent  any  after  consequences.  The  crew 
were  called  to  the  main  hatch,  and  the  body  was  arranged 
for  burial.  On  the  following  day  the  body  was  sewed  in  a 
canvas  shroud  and  placed  on  boards,  resting  on  the  lee  rail, 
with  heavy  weights  attached.  The  ship  was  brought  to  the 
wind  and  hove  to;  the  ensign  was  set  at  half-mast,  and  the 


150  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

ship's  bell  was  tolled.  All  hands,  with  bared  heads,  assem- 
bled around  the  place  of  the  dead,  and  the  captain  opened 
the  burial  service.  "Friends,  from  the  beginning  even  un- 
til now  the  mournful  decree  has  gone  forth  into  all  the  earth : 
'  Dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return.'  One  genera- 
tion passeth  away  and  another  generation  cometh;  and  there 
are  few  who  can  hide  themselves  from  the  solemn  thought,  I, 
too,  must  die,  and  the  places  which  know  me  shall  know  me 
no  more." 

After  this  exordium  the  choir  of  the  religious  meeting 
sang  the  following: 

"  Why  should  we  mourn  departing  friends, 
Or  quake  at  death's  alarm, 
'Tis  but  the  voice  that  Jesus  sends, 
To  call  his  children  home." 

When  the  singing  was  concluded,  one  of  the  passengers, 
a  leader  in  the  religious  meetings,  offered  a  solemn  prayer 
to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  beseeching  that  in  that  awful  mo- 
ment the  spirit  of  the  departed  one  might  be  received  into 
the  mansions  of  the  blest.  After  the  service  the  body  was 
committed  to  the  mighty  deep,  amid  the  lamentations  of 
surviving  friends.  The  body  sank  into  the  ocean  grave,  there 
to  rest  until  the  last  trump  shall  sound. 

"  No  further  seek  his  merits  to  disclose, 

Or  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode; 
There  they  alike  in  trembling  hope  repose, 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." 

When  the  last  sad  rites  had  been  concluded  the  ship  was 
filled  away  and  was  placed  upon  her  course. 

February  8th,  lat.  33  10  S.,  long.  50  02  W.,  we  had  been 
on  soundings,  hugging  the  coast,  and  were  now  in  the  lati- 
tude of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  where  we  were  fearful  that  we 
might  encounter  the  much  dreaded  pampero.  We  were  not 
disappointed.  We  had  the  wind  about  west  nor'vvest,  and 
were  steering  south  sou 'west,  with  a  stiff  breeze,  and  all  sail 
set;  when  all  at  once,  without  premonition,  a  blast  struck 
the  ship  that  sent  her  nearly  on  her  beamends.     It  threw 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  151 

everything  into  confusion  for  a  moment.  The  order  was 
given  to  let  go  the  halyards  of  the  light  sails;  the  courses 
were  hauled  up;  the  topsails  lowered  to  the  caps,  aod  every- 
thing was  taken  in  as  quick  as  hands  could  move.  The  ship 
soon  righted,  and  was  put  under  close  reefed  topsails,  fore- 
topmast  staysail,  and  mizzen  storm  trysail.  The  wind  was 
about  west,  and  the  ship  could  lay  her  course,  and  she 
scooted  like  a  race  horse  towards  Cape  Horn. 

The  gloom  that  was  caused  by  the  recent  fatality  began 
to  wear  off,  and  the  cooling  weather  had  allayed  the  appre- 
hensions which  many  had  been  laboring  under;  and  there- 
fore, a  more  cheerful  spirit  seemed  to  animate  every  one  on 
the  ship. 

Our  daily  fare  in  the  forecastle  was  passably  good.  As 
the  captain  had  supplied  a  large  stock  of  potatoes,  we  were 
enabled  to  have  plenty  of  salt  beef  hash,  as  well  as  a  good 
dish  of  lobscouse  for  breakfast. 

Lobscouse  is  a  sea  dish  and  is  made  of  one  onion  cut 
and  put  into  one  gallon  of  water,  a  dozen  potatoes  peeled 
and  cut  into  quarters,  four  cakes  of  navy  bread  soaked  and 
broken  up.  Boil  for  half  an  hour.  Cut  up  salt  beef  into 
small  square  pieces  equal  to  one-third  of  the  whole  mass, 
and  boil  all  again  half  an  hour.  Then  add  pepper  to  taste, 
and  add,  when  about  to  be  taken  up,  a  half  cupful  of  thick- 
ening. On  a  cold  morning  it  is  a  dish  "  fit  for  the  gods!  " 
Just  try  it. 

We  frequently  had  served  to  us  cornmeal  mush  with  mo- 
lasses. This  is  a  homely  dish,  but  it  is  mighty  satisfying  in 
a  cold  climate. 

The  captain  now  thought  of  steering  the  ship  between 
Staten  Land  and  the  Coast  of  Patagonia. 

February  18th  we  sighted  Staten  Land,  lat.  54  42  S. ,  long. 
63  43  W.  Tiie  second  mate  informed  us  that  Capt.  Buck- 
land  was  intending  to  sail  between  the  island  and  the  main- 
land of  Patagonia — and  this  passage  is  called  the  Straits  of 
La  Maire — thereby  making  a  large  gain  in  distance.  We 
approached  Staten  Land  within  about  twelve  miles  distance. 
As  we  were  sailing  along  with  a  light  breeze,  a  shore  bird 


152  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

came  off  and  alighted  on  the  main  royal  yardarm,  which  to 
us  seemed  a  harbinger  of  good  luck.  The  island  is  moun- 
tainous, and  showed  peaks  of  perpetual  snow. 

As  night  approached  the  wind  hauled  to  the  southward 
and  we  were  obliged  to  change  our  course,  and  passed  out- 
side of  Staten  Land  and  between  that  and  Falkland  Islands, 
lat.  51  40  S.,  long.  57  49  W.  During  the  night  the  wind 
was  light  southerly,  and  in  the  morning  we  were  about 
twenty  miles  easterly  from  Staten  Land.  Towards  noon  the 
wind  hauled  out  to  the  northward,  which  gave  us  a  fair  wind 
for  Cape  Horn,  lat.  55  58  S.,  long.  57  49  W. 

As  we  were  approaching  Cape  Horn  we  sighted  many 
vessels  going  in  the  same  direction  to  reach  that  objective 
point.  These  ships  had  sailed  from  different  Eastern  ports, 
and  all  going  to  round  Cape  Horn.  Somo  of  the  captains 
believed  in  making  an  eastern  passage,  that  is,  to  go  as  far 
as  the  longitude  of  the  Azores  Islands,  long.  31  00  W.,  then 
take  the  trade  winds  and  make  a  slant  for  the  Patagonian 
coast,  while  other  captains  preferred  to  take  the  western 
passage  and  just  clear  Cape  Saint  Roque.  Some  of  them 
cross  the  equator  in  long.  35  00  W.,  while  other  ships  cross 
the  equator  in  long.  25  00  W.,  hundreds  of  miles  apart,  and 
still  these  captains  are  endeavoring  to  reach  Cape  Horn  in 
the  quickest  way  that  each  thinks  is  possible.  After  they 
have  rounded  Cape  Horn  aijd  have  reached  their  destined 
port  they  don't  quarrel  about  the  route  that  each  took  to 
accomplish  the  desired  result.  Here  is  a  lesson  that  some 
of  our  devout  religious  teachers  might  study  with  benefit  to 
themselves  and  edification  to  their  flocks.  How  can  they 
expect  those  who  hear  them  say  from  the  pulpit,  "  Be  not 
contentious;  on  the  contrary  be  humble  and  submissive,  as 
our  divine  teacher  was  submissive."  This  is  good  doctrine, 
but  in  order  to  make  good  teaching  effective  the  teacher 
himself  should  first  set  the  example.  Why  should  the 
teacher,  in  speaking  to  his  flock,  attack  in  the  most  acri- 
monious manner  all  other  teachers  who  don't  teach  just  as 
he  teaches  ?  He  thereby  creates  a  spirit  of  contention  which 
is  not  conducive  to  religious  edification.     If  there  are  little 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  153 

differences  in  religious  belief,  let  us  not  be  constantly  in- 
veighing against  those  that  differ  from  us,  but  practice  a 
spirit  of  conciliation  and  amity  as  the  captains  do  that  steer 
their  ships  for  Cape  Horn  but  pursue  a  somewhat  different 
course  to  reach  the  same  end.  And  at  the  end  of  the  voyage 
of  life  may  we  hope  and  trust  that  it  may  be  said  to  each 
and  every  one  of  us,  "  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful 
servant." 

"  Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 
But  trust  him  for  his  grace." 

We  were  now  experiencing  pretty  cold  weather  and  after 
having  been  in  the  tropics  so  long  it  affected  us  quite  sen- 
sibly. We  asked  the  second  mate  for  permission  to  make 
coffee  each  night  at  seven  bells,  that  is,  at  half-past  eleven, 
as  then  after  the  watch  on  deck  had  taken  their  coffee  there 
still  would  be  a  supply  for  the  other  watch  which  came  on 
deck  at  eight  bells  or  midnight.  He  readily  granted  our 
request  and  we  went  to  the  galley  and  made  the  coffee.  On 
the  second  night,  the  larboard  watch  having  the  first  watch 
on  that  night,  prepared  the  coffee,  and  when  the  starboard 
watch  came  on  deck  we  took  our  share.  Well,  on  this  night 
a  sheet  of  gingerbread  had  been  left  in  the  galley  by  the 
cook,  and  some  one  of  the  sailors  had  abstracted  it  and  di- 
vided it  among  his  mates.  On  the  next  night  the  galley 
was  found  to  have  been  locked.  We  informed  the  second 
mate  and  he  lodged  a  complaint  with  the  captain.  The  cap- 
tain sent  for  the  steward  and  ordered  him  to  have  the  galley 
left  unlocked  every  night  until  the  ship  got  around  Cape 
Horn.  The  steward,  as  a  matter  of  course,  had  the  cook  to 
leave  the  galley  unlocked. 

Three  nights  after  the  second  opening  of  the  galley  it 
was  our  first  watch  on  deck;  we  started  the  fire  in  the 
caboose  and  made  the  coffee.  One  of  our  watch  found  a 
sheet  of  gingerbread  and  appropriated  it.  We  had  been  or- 
dered not  to  touch  anything  in  the  galley  but  the  coffee. 
The  cake  was  broken  and  passed  around.  I  was  offered  a 
piece,  which  I  took  and  examined  by  the  lamp  and  found 
that   it   contained   particles  that  sparkled  in  the  light.     I 


154  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

pointed  out  the  peculiar  appearance  to  my  watchmates  and 
declined  to  eat,  and  some  others  of  the  watch  also  refused 
to  eat  the  queer  looking  cake.  But  three  men  and  the  sec- 
ond mate  ate  heartily  of  the  sweet  bread.  At  twelve  o'clock, 
midnight,  the  larboard  watch  was  called;  we  were  relieved 
and  went  below.  About  two  bells,  one  o'clock,  I  was 
awakened  by  one  of  my  watchmates  groaning  and  moaning. 
In  five  minutes  thereafter  another  was  attacked  in  the  same 
way,  and  then  the  third  one.  The  ones  who  were  not  af- 
fected were  the  ones  who  had  not  eaten  of  the  gingerbread. 
The  chief  mate,  whose  watch  it  was,  came  to  the  forecastle 
gangway  and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  He  was  told  that 
the  men  appeared  to  be  very  sick.  He  ordered  one  of  the 
men  to  go  aft  and  call  the  "Doctor."  In  the  meantime  the 
sick  men  had  been  attacked  with  violent  purging  and  vom- 
iting. When  the  messenger  returned  forward  he  brought  the 
news  that  the  second  mate  had  been  attacked  in  a  similar 
manner.  The  affair  had  now  become  so  serious  that  Capt. 
Buckland  was  called.  The  "Doctor"  came  forward  and 
pronounced  it  a  case  of  indigestion  from  having  eaten  too 
much,  and  said  that  the  men  would  be  all  right  by  morning. 
But  by  morning  the  men  and  the  second  mate  were  much 
worse  than  they  were  when  first  attacked.  When  the  pas- 
sengers began  to  come  on  deck  and  heard  of  what  had  oc- 
curred they  began  to  discuss  the  matter  in  a  very  serious 
manner.  As  the  "Doctor"  was  the  person  that  had  charge 
of  the  medicine  chest,  and  the  men  who  had  eaten  of  the 
cake  were  the  only  ones  affected,  the  question  very  naturally 
arose  whether  it  was  that  the  cake  had  been  doctored.  One 
of  the  men  of  the  crew  went  aft  to  the  quarter  deck  and 
boldly  asked  the  "  Doctor  "  if  he  had  put  any  drug  into  that 
cake.  Capt.  Buckland  felt  his  dignity  as  captain  of  the  ship 
insulted,  and  having  before  had  a  conference  with  the 
"Doctor,"  answered  for  him  and  said  that  what  had  been 
done  was  done  by  his  order.  This  put  quite  a  different  face 
upon  the  affair.  In  the  meantime  it  had  leaked  out  that  the 
"Doctor"  had  acknowledged  to  the  captain  that  he  had, 
with  the  connivance  of  the  steward,  put  some  emetic  powder 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  155 

in  the  cake  in  order  to  punish  the  sailors  for  purloining  food 
from  the  galley  to  which  they  had  no  right.  But  Capt. 
Buckland  soon  learned  that  he  had  made  a  most  serious  mis- 
take in  assuming  the  responsibility  for  the  nefarious  act  of 
the  "Doctor."  All  that  day  the  men  were  very  sick.  The 
violent  purging  and  vomiting  had  relieved  them  from  the  se- 
vere pains,  yet  they  were  very  sick.  The  passengers  felt 
that  while  they  had  a  man  in  their  midst  who  was  capable  of 
perpetrating  such  an  atrocious  act,  and  that  man  was  sus- 
tained by  the  captain,  that  no  man  on  board,  neither  pas- 
senger nor  sailor,  was  safe  from  the  dangerous  schemes 'of 
the  secret  enemy. 

At  last  the  passengers  met  in  convention,  elected  a  chair- 
man, secretary  and  sergeant-at-arms.  After  reviewing  the 
situation  the  men  of  cool  judgment  and  moderate  views  ad- 
vised the  arrest  and  confinement  of  the  "Doctor,"  while  the 
younger  and  more  noisy  portion  demanded  that  the  culprit 
be  tried  at  once,  and  if  proven  guilty  of  conspiring  to  poison 
the  crew,  that  he  be  hanged  at  once  or  thrown  overboard. 
These  hot  blooded,  fiery  young  fellows  reminded  me  of 
Shakespeare's  description  of  young  manhood: 

"  Then  a  soldier;  full  of  strange  oaths,  and  bearded  like  the  pard; 
Jealous  in  honor,  sudden  and  quick  in  quarrel; 
Seeking  the  bubble  reputation  even  in  the  cannon's  mouth." 

The  moderate  counsel  prevailed  and  the  "Doctor  "was 
immediately  arrested  by  the  sergeant-at-arms. 

How  often  have  I  been  reminded  in  after  years,  when  I 
saw  the  first  vigilance  committee  of  1852,  and  the  one  of 
1856,  that  men,  when  the  emergency  arises,  can  quickly 
adopt  measures  for  self-protection. 

The  captain  was  called  upon  to  furnish  handcuffs  and  the 
"Doctor"  was  manacled  and  confined  to  his  room  under 
guard.  The  victims  of  the  diabolical  scheme  were  invalided 
for  about  ten  days,  after  which  time  they  returned  to  duty. 
As  to  the  "Doctor,"  he  was  kept  in  confinement  for  several 
days,  after  which  time,  as  the  captain  had  taken  charge  of 
the  ship's  medicine  chest,  and  therefore  had  rendered  the 


156  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

*'  Doctor"  unable  to  perpetrate  any  further  mischief,  he  was 
released  from  confinement  and  allowed  his  freedom.  But  he 
never,  during  the  balance  of  the  voyage,  ventured  to  go  for- 
ward of  the  mainmast. 

During  all  these  exciting  events  I  was  surprised  to  no- 
tice that  the  steward,  who  to  my  mind  was  far  from  being 
blameless,  was  not  called  to  account  for  the  part  he  had 
enacted,  nor  was  he  deposed  from  the  important  position  of 
being  steward  of  the  ship.  Whatever  secret  infinence  he 
possessed,  it  was  sufficient  to  save  him  from  being  taken  to 
account  for  his  participation  in  the  affair. 

The  second  mate,  Mr.  Mulroony,  was  very  depressed  and 
melancholy  for  a  time,  but  after  awhile  his  buoyancy  of 
spirits  asserted  itself  and  he  became  as  active  as  before  the 
unpleasant  episode.  We,  the  sailors,  continued  to  make  our 
coffee,  for  the  weather  was  very  severe  and  cold,  but  we 
never  after  searched  the  galley  for  any  more  tidbits,  as  the 
severe  lesson  was  very  effective. 

February  20th,  by  noon  observation  our  position  was 
lat.  55  07  south,  long.  64  03  west.  The  weather  was  very 
cold  and  the  sky  was  overcast  with  heavy  dark  clouds.  At 
four  P.  M.  the  captain  ordered  that  the  royal  yards  be  sent 
down  on  deck.  This  was  an  act  of  precaution  that  showed 
that  he  was  preparing  for  much  worse  weather  and  more  of 
it.  The  wind  was  now  west-southwest,  and  we  were  plung- 
ing along  under  double-reefed  topsails  and  reefed  courses, 
jib  and  foretopmast  staysail.  The  sea  from  the  westward 
was  very  heavy,  but  the  captain  kept  all  the  sail  on  the  ship 
that  she  could  bear,  as  she  was  laying  her  course.  By  six 
p.  M.  the  royal  yards  had  been  sent  down  on  deck,  and  then 
the  order  came  to  rig  in  the  flying-jibboom.  We  rigged  this 
in  as  far  as  the  head  stays  allowed  and  lashed  it  to  the  jib- 
boom,  and  tautened  the  head  stays  and  guys  and  lashed  the 
sail  snug. 

It  was  now  eight  bells  and  we  were  allowed  to  eat  our 
supper.  After  supper  the  larboard  watch  turned  in,  as  we 
had  the  first  watch  on  deck.  The  night  did  not  set  in  be- 
fore nine  p.  m.  in  these  high  latitudes  at  this  time  of  the 
year. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  157 

At  four  bells,  ten  p.  m.,  it  was  my  trick  at  the  wheel. 
The  ship  was  plunging  and  pitching  in  the  heavy  sea,  but 
she  was  as  dry  as  a  chip  on  deck  and  steered  very  easy. 

At  six  bells,  eleven  o'clock,  everything  around  was  en- 
veloped in  a  dark  haze,  and  the  wind  was  whistling  through 
the  rigging.  Every  few  moments  the  ship  would  give  a  lurch 
to  leeward  which  would  cause  the  second  mate,  who  was 
walking  on  the  weather  side  of  the  quarter-deck,  to  grasp 
the  mizzen  rigging,  if  he  missed  which  he  would  slide 
against  the  trunk  of  the  cabin  with  a  thump.  We  had  our 
starboard  tacks  aboard  and  were  heading  south  by  west. 
All  at  once  the  man  on  the  lookout  sung  out  in  thundering 
tones,  "Sail  ho!"  and  before  another  word  was  said  there 
appeared  on  our  weather  beam  an  immense  black  body  that 
was  rushing  and  bearing  right  down  upon  us  at  lightning 
speed  and  with  a  thundering  whir. 

The  second  mate  called  out,  "Hard  up  your  helm;  ring 
the  ship's  bell !  "  One  of  the  watch — ^who  had  been  reading 
Capt.  Mairyatt's  novel,  "  Tlie  Phantom  Ship  " — cried  out,  in 
his  terror,  "  Tis  the  Flying  Dutchman!  "  One  of  the  watch 
grabbed  the  cook's  axe,  and  began  to  pound  the  anchor. 
The  mate  and  captain  rushed  on  deck,  but  by  the  time  they 
had  reached  the  deck  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen.  For 
what  we  saw  was  like  a  flash  of  lightning.  It  was  a  ship  un- 
der topsails  and  courses,  steering  east  nor'east,  right  before 
wind,  and  just  passed  so  near  our  weather  quarter  that  they 
could  have  tossed  a  biscuit  on  board  of  our  ship,  but  was 
now  lost  in  the  gloom  of  the  night.  This  gave  us  a  great 
fright,  but  it  was  no  fault  of  ours.  We  were  on  the  look- 
out, but  our  ship  had  no  side-lights,  for  at  that  time  they 
were  not  used,  unless  sailing  up  or  down  a  river. 

Capt.  Buckland  instructed  the  second  mate  to  keep  a 
sharp  lookout,  as  we  were  directly  in  the  track  of  vessels 
going  east  around  Cape  Horn  from  the  Western  Coast  of 
America  and  from  Australia. 

Our  time  had  been  so  much  occupied  by  the  passing 
ship  that  we  had  to  do  without  our  midnight  coffee. 

Some  of  the  passengers  were  so  much  disturbed  by  this 


158  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

affair  that  they  passed  the  balance  of  the  night  on  deck. 
The  weather  was  now  boisterous  and  disagreeable,  with  fre- 
quent showers  of  rain. 

After  leaving  Rio  the  crew  were  kept  on  deck  all  after- 
noons for  three  days  while  everything  was  made  snug  for 
sea.  After  which  time  we  were  allowed  "  watch  and  watch," 
and  whatever  was  to  be  done  about  deck  or  aloft  was  per- 
formed by  the  watch  that  was  on  deck,  unless  in  a  case  of 
emergency,  when  "all  hands  on  deck''  was  called  out;  at 
which  times  we  were  required  to  work  until  the  watch  was 
ordered  below.  This  gave  us  ample  leisure  to  sleep,  to  read, 
and  to  mend  our  .clothes. 

The  potatoes  were  now  exhausted,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  fall  back  on  bread  scouse,  and  Indian  meal  mush  for 
breakfast;  but  we  had  good  beef,  and  real  corn-fed  pork, 
which,  with  plenty  of  beans,  codfish  and  rice,  we  fared  very 
well  in  the  forecastle. 

February  22d,  ''Washington's  Birthday,"  lat.  56  23  S., 
long.  70  03  W.,  wind  still  west  to  west  sou'west,  but  more 
moderate.  Shook  the  reefs  out  of  the  topsails  and  courses 
and  set  the  main  staysail  and  spanker.  Steering  south  by 
west  close  hauled.  The  ship  sailed  well  but  making  large 
leeway. 

The  second  mate  said  the  captain  would  run  the  ship  to 
59  south  and  then  'bout  ship  and  go  on  the  other  tack.  To- 
day, when  the  haze  cleared  off,  sighted  a  ship  to  the  wind- 
ward steering  on  the  wind,  like  ourselves,  but  while  we  out- 
sailed her  she  could  out- weather  us,  as  she  kept  her  grip 
better. 

Our  ship  was  sometimes  surrounded  by  right  whales,  as 
their  locality  is  in  high  latitudes,  where  the  temperature  of 
the  water  is  cold;  as  the  sperm  whale  is  seen  in  low  lati- 
tudes where  the  temperature  of  the  water  is  warm. 

There  were  two  young  sailors  in  the  crew  who  had  been 
whaling,  and  when  they  would  see  a  whale  rise  up  to  the 
surface  of  the  water  and  spout  out  a  volume  of  water,  they 
would  sing  out,  "There  she  blows!"  Then  they  would  say: 
"  Ah !  boys,  I  wish  we  had  a  cedar  lapstreak  whaleboat  with 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  159 

whaling  gear;  how  I'd  like  to  fasten  on  to  one  of  them  fel- 
lers and  then  just  have  him  tow  the  boat  through  the  water, 
like  a  streak  of  greased  lightning.  I  tell  you  its  fine  fun." 
But  I  thought  it  was  far  better  in  its  omission  than  it  would 
be  in  its  observance.  This  desire,  expressed  by  the^quon- 
dam  whaleman,  proved  the  truth  of  the  old  saying,  "that 
when  a  person  has  once  been  in  an  occupation  that  was 
fraught  with  danger  that  when  the  same  conditions  present 
themselves  afterwards  that  the  impulse  to  rush  into  the  fray 
becomes  irresistible."  However,  as  we  had  no  laDstreak 
whaleboat  nor  whaling  gear  on  board,  my  shipmate  could 
not  indulge  the  bent  of  his  inclination. 

February  25th,  lat.  59  06  S.,  long.  75  11  W.  The  wind 
had  hauled  to  the  southward,  it  now  being  southwest.  At 
four  bells,  2  p.  m.,  we  went  about  in  stays,  and  the  wind 
having  somewhat  moderated,  the  topgallantsails  were  set, 
and  the  maintopmast  staysails.  The  ship  was  close  hauled, 
heading  about  west  northwest,  and  as  Cape  Horn  was  in  lat. 
55  58,  the  captain  hoped  to  pass  it  with  a  wide  berth. 

To-day  there  was  a  school  of  porpoises  around  the  ship, 
and  after  throwing  the  harpoon  several  times,  by  one  of  the 
crew,  one  of  these  denizens  of  the  briny  deep  was  captured 
and  hauled  on  deck.  After  the  blubber  was  stripped  off  the 
meat  was  cut  into  slices,  parboiled,  and  then  wiped  dry  and 
fried  in  pork  fat.  The  meat  was  quite  palatable  in  this  way 
but  not  equal  to  what  it  is  when  made  into  minced  balls. 

February  26th.  To-day  we  had  a  change  of  wind.  It 
backed  around  from  southwest  to  south  and  then  to  south- 
east, giving  us  a  free  wind,  steering  west.  We  now  began 
to  make  longitude,  having  Cape  Horn  well  under  our  lee. 
On  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  February  we  caught  an  albatross 
with  a  baited  hook,  which  was  towing  on  the  surface  of  the 
sea.  When  it  was  hauled  on  board  and  the  hook  taken  from 
its  bill,  it  was  allowed  to  walk  around  on  deck,  as  it  could 
not  rise  from  the  deck.  The  albatross  is  an  immense  bird 
with  a  large  body,  and  a  spread  of  wings  from  eight  to  four- 
teen feet.  This  was  a  very  large  bird.  One  of  the  passen- 
gers took  a  strip  of  sheet  copper  and  engraved  upon  it  the 


160  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

name  of  the  ship,  date  and  latitude.  He  then  bored  a  hole 
through  one  end  of  the  sheet  and  passed  a  strong  leather 
thong  through  the  same.  He  then  passed  it  around  the  up- 
per joint  of  the  wing  of  the  bird  and  sewed  the  ends  to- 
gether. Then  the  bird  could  fly,  and  he  could  eat  without 
any  detriment  to  his  movement.  After  this  was  done  he 
was  taken  up  from  the  deck  and  allowed  to  fly  away. 

Now  the  sequel  of  this  affair  was  most  singular.  When 
we  arrived  in  San  Francisco  and  had  been  in  port  about  ten 
days,  what  was  our  surprise  to  see  in  the  "  Boston  Journal," 
steamer  edition,  a  paragraph  relating  the  circumstance  of 
the  capture  of  the  albatross,  by  a  ship  that  afterwards 
touched  at  Valparaiso,  and  had  sent  the  news  to  Panama  by 
the  English  mail  steamer,  whence  it  was  taken  to  New  York 
by  the  Pacific  mail  steamer,  conveying  the  news  to  anxious 
friends  that  the  voyagers  were  safe  on  the  ocean.  This  re- 
markable incident  clearly  comes  within  the  category  of  cases 
in  which  it  is  said  that,  "  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction." 

We  were  now  in  the  Pacific  Ocean — the  great  Pacific — 
the  peaceful,  quiet,  calm  ocean.  Although  it  was  not  so 
quiet,  just  then,  on  that  29th  day  of  February,  1850,  lat.  56 
02  S.,  and  long.  77  10  W.,  still  we  felt  certain  as  we  pro- 
gressed northerly  and  left  the  "  Southern  Cross"  behind  us, 
that  the  weather  would  be  improved  by  the  lowering  of  our 
latitude.  Every  one  on  board  the  ship  now  began  to  show 
a  brighter  face,  with  one  exception — that  was  the  "Doctor." 
I  cannot  say  that  he  showed  a  brighter  face,  because  he  did 
not  show  his  face,  as  he  was  still  in  "durance  vile."  Our 
course  was  now  northerly;  and  it  was  learned  in  the  fore- 
castle that  the  captain  had  made  up  his  mind  to  touch  at  the 
Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  made  historic  and  impressed 
deeply  in  the  mind  of  almost  every  boy  in  America  and  in 
England  by  the  simple  and  romantic  story  of  Alexander 
Selkirk,  or  better  known  as  "  Kobinson  Crusoe."  That  was 
the  first  book  of  travel  which  I  ever  read,  and,  when  reading 
it,  how  I  longed  and  wished  that  I  could  have  been  on  that 
romantic  island,  dressed  in  goat  skins,  cultivating  the  little 
garden,  training  the  kids  and  watching  the  ocean's  birds 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  161 

that  landed  there  to  hatch  their  young.  And  now,  so  many 
years  afterwards,  I  was  to  see  that  island. 

I  remember  that  after  I  had  read  the  little  book  I  loaned 
it  to  an  old  lady  of  the  neighborhood  where  I  lived,  and  when 
she  returned  it  to  me,  after  having  read  it,  she  shed  tears  of 
sympathy  for  poor  Crusoe,  because  of  his  sufferings  on  that 
lonely  island  in  mid-ocean. 

We  were  now  ordered  to  send  up  the  royal  yards  and  to 
run  out  the  flying  jib-boom.  The  wind  had  again  hauled 
back  to  the  south'ard  and  eastward,  and  as  our  course  was 
now  northward  and  westward  we  had  a  free  wind.  Vfe  now 
began  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  pleasant  weather.  The  pas- 
sengers now  began  to  come  on  deck  and  gather  in  groups  for 
conversation. 

At  this  time  the  feeling  between  the  people  of  the  free 
and  slave  States  was  becoming  very  rancorous,  arising  en- 
tirely from  the  question  of  freedom  versus  slavery.  The 
people  of  the  northern  States  deprecated  the  condition  of 
our  country,  arising  from  the  existence  of  slavery  in  our 
nation;  while  the  people  of  the  southern  States  insisted  upon 
its  maintenance,  and  compelled  the  national  government  to 
enact  laws  for  its  protection  and  perpetuation  in  the  new 
territories  acquired  by  purchase  or  conquest. 

Even  in  the  Territory  of  California  up  to  the  day  of  its 
admission  as  a  State  of  the  Union,  the  southern  masters  had 
brought  many  of  their  slaves  for  the  purpose  of  having  them 
labor  in  the  mines,  thereby  to  enrich  their  masters.  But 
the  masters  very  soon  learned  that  they  had  made  a  very 
serious  mistake,  for  the  sons  of  the  heroes  of  Bunker  Hill 
gave  them  to  understand  that  vassal  or  slave  would  not  be 
allowed  to  be  held  in  bondage  by  a  master,  and  breathe  the 
same  air  that  a  free-born  American  did.  When  the  owners 
of  human  slaves  were  convinced  of  this  fact,  they,  by  force 
of  circumstances,  were  obliged  to  give  up  the  contest  and 
retire  to  the  State  from  whence  they  came. 

I  had  seen  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  negro  cooks  and 
stewards,  that  came  there  on  board  of  ships  that  had  come 
to  load  with  cotton  for  Europe,  taken  out  of  the  ship  by  the 

U 


162  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

sheriff  of  the  county  and  placed  in  jail  and  there  detained 
until  the  ship  was  ready  to  go  to  sea.  Then  they  would  be 
returned  to  the  ship,  and  a  bill  would  be  presented  to  the 
captain  for  their  maintenance  during  their  enforced  seclu- 
sion. This,  they  claimed,  was  done  to  prevent  the  free  Ne- 
groes of  the  North  from  infusing  into  the  minds  of  the  slaves 
the  mischievous  sentiment  of  human  freedom  that  was  so 
prevalent  in  the  Northern  States. 

The  National  Government  was  so  much  dominated  over 
by  the  southern  slave  holders  that  when  complaints  were 
sent  to  Washington  by  the  merchants  of  the  North,  they 
were  thrown  into  the  waste  basket  to  be  swept  out  the  fol- 
lowing morning  by  the  Negro  slave  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

The  passengers  on  board  the  "Urania"  were  men  who 
had  obtained  their  education  in  that  great  diffuser  of  knowl- 
edge, the  "District  School,"  which  they  had  attended  for 
three  months  in  each  year,  commencing  the  first  Monday 
after  Thanksgiving  Day,  and  continuing  in  session  for  three 
months  in  each  year.  The  balance  of  nine  months  they  were 
obliged  to  work  in  order  that  the  family  pot  might  be  kept 
boiling.  In  the  school  they  were  taught  reading,  writing, 
arithmetic,  geography  and  grammar.  After  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  a  male  scholar  was  not  allowed  in  the  dis- 
trict school. 

If  a  rich  man  desired  a  higher  education  for  his  son, 
there  were  the  academies  and  the  colleges  open  to  them,  but 
the  taxpayer  was  not  required  to  pay  for  the  rich  man's 
son  to  obtain  that  higher  education,  which  he  could  not 
afford  to  give  to  his  own  son. 

All  the  passengers  were  constant  readers,  and  I  was  in- 
formed that  they  were  well  supplied  with  instructive  books. 
There  were  two  men  among  the  number  that  particularly  at- 
tracted my  attention.  One  was  named  Hiram  Bardell  and 
the  other  Zeno  Scudder.  They  possessed  a  quadrant  and  a 
Bowditch's  Navigator  between  them,  and  they  could  be  seen 
every  clear  day  on  the  topgallant  forecastle  taking  a  noon- 
day observation  of  the  sun.     After  the  altitude  of  the  sun 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  163 

was  obtained  at  meridian,  they  would  get  the  Bowditch's 
Navigator  and  work  out  the  latitude.  Then  they  reckoned 
out  the  longitude  by  dead  reckoning.  They  ascertained  the 
course  steered  the  previous  twenty-four  hours  and  the  dis- 
tance sailed;  then  they  made  due  allowance  for  leeway  and 
course  of  the  current.  By  one  o'clock  each  afternoon  they 
would  have  their  bulletin  ready  for  the  information  of  their 
fellow-passengers  as  to  the  position  of  the  ship  and  her  dis- 
tance from  San  Francisco. 

March  2d.  The  wind  has  changed  to  the  northeast,  with 
a  moderate  breeze.  Our  position  by  observation  at  noon 
was  lat.  53  05  S.,  long.  76  15  W.  We  are  now  standing  with 
our  larboard  tacks  aboard  and  heading  along  about  E.  by  S. 
to  E.  S.  E.  To-day  our  amateur  navigators  were  asked  as 
to  the  position  of  the  ship,  and  Mr.  Bardell  promptly  an- 
swered, "lat.  57  18  south,  long.  77  45  west."  Well/this 
was  thought  pretty  close  for  midocean,  but  it  would  not  do 
to  sail  a  ship  by  in  approaching  the  land.  However,  it  occu- 
pied their  time  and  served  to  beguile  the  time  that  would 
otherwise  hang  heavy  on  their  hands. 

The  passengers,  some  of  whom  have  boats  on  board  the 
ship,  are  now  talking  about  what  they  will  do  when  they  ar- 
rive in  San  Francisco.  It  seems  to  be  their  intention  to 
start  directly  for  the  mining  region  and  commence  the  accu- 
mulation of  their  fortune  at  once. 

There  was  one  man  in  the  forecastle  whose  name  was 
Cyrenus  Eldridge,  but  he  was  called  Uncle  Cy.  He  was  a 
man  considerably  advanced  in  years  and  very  good  natured 
and  quiet.  He,  it  seems,  was  an  old  and  valued  acquaint- 
ance of  the  captain,  and  for  that  reason  had  been  shipped 
on  board  the  "  Urania  "  as  an  able  seaman,  but  he  was  not 
required  to  go  aloft.  He  became  quite  communicative  to 
me  and  revealed  to  me  his  condition.  He  said  that  his  home 
was  on  the  shores  of  Buzzard's  Bay,  Cape  Cod;  that  he 
owned  a  modest  little  farm  of  a  few  acres,  which  was  sit- 
uated on  the  borders  of  the  bay  where  there  was  an  indenta- 
tion which  made  a  nice  safe  harbor  for  his  boat.  He  raised 
all  the  potatoes,  corn,  turnips,  pumpkins  and  other  vegeta- 


164  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

bles  thivt  he  needed;  besides  he  had  a  few  apple  and  quince 
trees,  which  supplied  a  reasonable  quantity  of  fruit.  In  the 
summer  time  he  could  take  his  little  boat  and  go  out  on  the 
bay  and  catch  the  tautog,  scuppaug  and  bluefish;  in  the  win- 
ter he  could  take  his  spear  and  spear  all  the  eels  that  his 
family  could  use.  But  there  was  an  incubus  hanging  upon 
him  and  his  little  family  in  the  shape  of  a  six  hundred  dol- 
lars mortgage.  He  told  me  that  if  he  could  in  the  space  of 
one  or  two  ye.irs  accomplish  the  feat  of  discharging  that 
mortgage,  it  would  place  him  in  a  condition  that  would  be 
superior  to  that  of  the  great  Daniel  Webster  on  his  Marsh- 
field  farm.  And  now  I  pen  this  with  the  liveliest  satisfac- 
tion, that  within  one  year  after  we  arrived  in  California 
Uncle  Cy  called  upon  me  in  San  Francisco  and  informed  me 
that  he  had  accomplished  the  purpose  of  his  tedious  voyage 
around  Cape  Horn — had  already  sent  the  money  by  Adams 
&  Co.'s  Express  to  discharge  the  mortgage,  and  also  had 
enough  with  him  to  pay  his  way  home  and  have  something 
left  after  he  arrived  there.  He  left  San  Francisco  in  a  ship 
bound  to  Realejo,  in  the  Gulf  of  Tehauntepec,  to  cross  from 
thence  to  the  Atlantic  side,  and  from  there  to  Boston.  Good 
Cyrenus  Eldridge,  it  is  my  sincere  hope  that  he  has  realized 
his  most  sanguine  expectations. 

The  wind  continued  northeast  for  two  days,  and  as  we 
could  not  lay  closer  than  east  by  south,  we  found  ourselves 
in  lat.  54  51  S.,  long.  65  30  W.  The  weather  was  still  sharp 
and  chilly,  but  the  midnight  coffee  had  now  been  stopped, 
and  the  "Doctor"  would  never  get  another  chance  at  the 
crew. 

March  8th  the  wind  hauled  around  to  southeast,  giving 
us  a  fair  wind,  and  we  shaped  our  course  north-northwest 
for  Juan  Fernandez.  "Hurrah!"  said  the  passengers. 
"Hurrah!"  said  the  crew.  As  the  atmosphere  was  clear 
and  the  barometer  indicated  good  weather,  the  captain  or- 
dered that  every  stitch  of  canvas  be  put  on  the  ship.  We 
ran  out  the  topmast  and  to'galiant  stun'sail  booms  and  set 
the  sails;  the  mainsail  was  hauled  up  and  the  two  lower 
stun'sails  set.     As  the  "Urania"  had  no  swinging  booms, 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  165 

the  lower  stun'sails  were  not  as  effective  as  they  would  have 
been  in  the  old  style,  for  a  lower  stun'sail  when  not  kept  in 
place  by  a  boom  may  roll  up  into  a  scroll  like  a  sheet  of 
paper.  When  every  rag  that  could  draw  was  put  on  to  her 
I  think  the  "  Urania  "  reeled  off  about  fourteen  knots.  She 
was  a  wonderfully  fast  sailer  with  the  wind  aft. 

We  now  began  to  lower  our  latitude  rapidly,  and  the  pas- 
sengers began  to  furbish  up  their  guns  so  as  to  be  ready  to 
bring  down  a  score  or  two  of  the  famous  goats  that  were  left 
on  Juan  Fernandez  by  Bobinson  Crusoe. 

March  12th,  lat.  40  10  S.,  long.  71  05  W.  The  wind  is 
steady,  southeast,  and  the  second  mate  says  that  we  will 
reach  Juan  Fernandez  in  three  days'  time  if  the  wind  holds 
as  now.  The  passengers  are  anticipating  a  pleasure  season 
on  shore  when  we  reach  Juan  Fernandez. 

March  15th.  We  are  now  nearing  the  romantic  island; 
our  position  at  12  meridian  was  34  42  S.,  long.  76  03  W. 
The  captain  ordered  the  second  mate  to  send  a  man  aloft  to 
keep  a  lookout  for  land,  as  Juan  Fernandez  has  very  high, 
mountainous  peaks.  At  eight  bells  in  the  evening  the  cap- 
tain ordered  all  the  light  sails  to  be  taken  in,  the  mainsail 
to  be  hauled  up  and  furled,  and  put  the  ship  under  topsails, 
foresail  and  jib. 

The  next  morning  we  put  all  sail  on  the  ship  and  away 
she  went,  steering  northwest  with  the  wind  dead  aft.  As 
soon  as  it  was  daylight  a  man  was  ordered  aloft  to  look  out 
for  land  or  sail. 

At  seven  bells  our  watch  was  called  and  the  cook  gave 
us  for  breakfast  bread  scouse,  fried  pancakes  and  coffee. 
At  eight  o'clock  our  watch  went  on  duty,  and  I  was  ordered 
to  go  aloft  and  relieve  the  man  on  the  lookout.  After  I  had 
relieved  the  man  of  the  larboard  watch  I  settled  myself  on 
the  foretopmast  crosstrees  and  scanned  the  horizon  care- 
fully, in  the  hope  that  I  might  have  the  honor  of  sighting 
the  land;  but  for  the  two  hours  that  I  was  on  the  lookout 
neither  land  nor  sail  did  I  see. 

At  four  bells  I  was  relieved  and  descended  to  the  deck. 
The  passengers  gathered  around  me  and  asked  whether  I 


166  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

had  seen  the  land,  and  when  I  answered  in  the  negative  they 
turned  from  me  disappointed.  Every  passenger  seemed  to 
be  on  deck,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  the  crew 
could  pass  around  in  obedience  to  orders  given  from  the 
quarter-deck. 

About  six  bells  the  lookout  aloft  proclaimed  the  joyful 
news,  "Land  ho!  land  ho!"  "Where  away?"  asked  the 
captain.  "Three  points  on  the  larboard  bow,  sir."  "  Very 
well:  come  down."  "Aye,  aye,  sir,"  and  the  lookout  man 
came  on  deck. 

"  Put  your  helm  to  starboard  and  bring  her  up  two 
points,"  said  the  captain.  "Aye,  aye,  sir,"  responded  the 
man  at  the  wheel.  The  excitement  among  the  passengers 
was  wonderful  to  behold.  They  seemed  to  feel  that  they 
were  approaching  towards  the  end  of  their  journey,  although 
they  were  still  thousands  of  miles  away  from  it,  but  the  idea 
of  having  reached  Juan  Fernandez  made  the  balance  of  the 
journey  seem  easy. 

At  2  p.  M.,  having  reached  what  appeared  to  us  to  be 
quite  near  the  island,  Capt.  Buckland  ordered  the  first  mate 
to  launch  the  yawl  boat  and  have  her  manned,  and  to  go  and 
reconnoiter  the  island  for  the  purpose  of  finding  a  suitable 
place  for  an  anchorage.  We  got  the  yawl  boat  into  the 
water,  after  bringing  the  ship  up  into  the  wind,  and  four  of 
the  crew  were  ordered  into  the  boat,  Tom  and  myself  be- 
ing among  them.  The  chief  mate  took  charge  of  the  boat, 
taking  two  of  the  after-cabin  passengers  with  him  for  com- 
pany. We  pulled  away  from  the  ship  and  steered  for  the 
shore,  under  the  supposition  that  it  was  about  five  miles  dis- 
tant. After  we  had  rowed  about  a  mile  from  the  ship  we 
discovered  that  the  boat  was  leaking  very  copiously,  and  we, 
the  sailors,  had  all  we  could  do  to  pull  the  boat,  and  as  the 
mate  had  to  steer  her,  the  two  passengers  had  no  alternative 
but  to  bail  out  the  water  or  let  the  boat  sink.  When  they 
found  that  it  was  either  bail  or  sink,  they  took  hold  and 
worked  for  dear  life.  Well,  we  rowed,  and  we  rowed,  and 
we  rowed,  and  the  longer  we  rowed  the  further  the  land 
seemed  to  be  from  us.     Well,  after  a  long  and  tedious  trip 


A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans.  167 

we  neared  the  land,  but  we  found  that  the  sea  was  breaking 
furiously  all  along  the  shore,  and  that  the  coast  was  bold  and 
perpendicular;  we  rowed  along  from  the  eastern  point  and 
went  westerly  until  we  arrived  at  a  very  bluff  promontory, 
which  we  passed,  and  came  in  view  of  an  indentation  that 
formed  quite  a  bay,  with  a  shelving,  sandy  beach.  The  mate 
exclaimed,  ''Eureka!  We  have  found  it."  We  learned 
afterwards  that  this  roadstead  was  known  as  Cumberland 
Bay. 

After  a  long  pull,  which  had  nearly  exhausted  us,  and 
about  used  up  the  two  passengers,  we  made  a  landing,  find- 
ing ourselves  safe  on  shore,  drenched  through  and  through 
with  the  spray,  and  entirely  without  water  or  food.  And  it 
was  now  past  7  o'clock  by  the  mate's  watch. 

After  we  had  beached  our  boat  and  drawn  her  well  up  on 
the  sand,  we  began  to  look  around  us.  We  first  looked  to- 
wards our  ship  which  we  saw  was  well  in  the  offing,  and  we 
had  learned,  to  our  cost,  that  instead  of  being  five  miles  from 
shore  when  we  started  that  we  had  been  at  least  fifteen  miles 
distant  from  it.  We  looked  up  inland,  and  there,  to  our  de- 
light, we  saw  what  appeared  to  be  three  diminutive  houses, 
from  one  of  which  we  could  see  smoke  issuing. 

As  we  walked  up  towards  the  little  settlement  we  could 
see  one  or  two  men,  who  had  probably  spied  us,  coming  to- 
wards us.  As  they  were  approaching  us  I  could  see  that  one 
of  them  was  a  pale,  sharp-faced  man,  with  carroty  hair,  while 
the  other  was  a  swarthy,  corpulent  man,  with  black  hair  and 
large,  dark  eyes,  that  looked  kindly  upon  us.  The  carroty 
haired  man  gave  the  usual  Yankee  salutation,  "How  de 
doo,"  to  which  the  mate  made  the  characteristic  reply, 
"Pretty  well,  I  thank  you.  "  The  swarthy  man  inclined  his 
head  condescendingly,  and  they  both  advanced  and  met  us. 
The  mate  shook  hands  with  them  both,  and  entered  into 
conversation  with  carrot-head.  He  told  him  that  the  ship 
in  the  offing  was  the  ship  "  Urania,"  from  Boston,  with 
passengers  to  the  number  of  more  than  one  hundred;  that 
the  two  gentleman,  then  present,  were  of  the  number,  while 
the  others,  pointing  to  us,  were  members  of  the  crew.     The 


168  A  Tale  op  Two  Oceans. 

Islander  introduced  himself  as  being  a  New  England  whale- 
man, who  had  been  landed  there  from  the  ship  ''Gideon 
Howland,"  of  New  Bedford^  he  being  at  the  time  suffering 
from  the  scurvy,  caused  by  the  excessive  use  of  salt  food. 
He  introduced  his  companion  as  being  Don  Eusebio  Domin- 
go de  Echandea,  Gobernador  de  Juan  Fernandez.  When 
we  learned  the  title  of  the  gentleman,  who  was  standing  be- 
fore us,  we  at  once  raised  our  hats,  to  which  salutation  he 
courteously  responded.  The  mate  then  made  known  the  ob- 
ject of  this  visit  to  be  to  obtain  a  supply  of  water  and  wood 
sufficient  to  enable  us  to  complete  our  voyage  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. To  his  inquiries  satisfactory  answers  were  given; 
but,  as  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  return  to  the  ship  that 
night,  the  Yankee  whaleman  offered  us  a  shelter  for  the  night 
in  one  of  the  small  houses.  The  mate  gladly  accepted  the 
kind  offer,  as  the  ship  was  out  of  sight,  owing  to  the  dark- 
ness. We  secured  the  boat  for  the  night,  and  then  we  fol- 
lowed our  entertainer  to  the  little  hut,  where  we  were  per- 
mitted to  build  a  fire  on  the  earth  floor.  As  I  said  before, 
we  had  not  taken  either  water  or  food  with  us — which  was 
very  imprudent,  and  very  short-sighted  on  the  part  of  the 
captain,  as  he  had  been  a  whaleman  and  knew  the  necessity 
of  providing  for  such  contingencies  as  getting  benighted  at 
sea  in  a  boat.  But  the  whaleman  told  us  that  a  number  of 
vessels  that  were  bound  to  California  had  touched  there  to 
obtain  wood  and  water,  and  in  return  for  such  service  as  he 
had  rendered  they  had  rewarded  him  with  a  generous  sup- 
ply of  hard  bread  and  other  articles,  from  the  land  of  civil- 
ization. He  kindly  gave  us  some  of  his  store  of  hard  bread 
and  also  some  dried  fish.  We  ate  of  his  bounty,  and  started 
a  fire,  and  made  ourselves  a  bed,  of  rushes  and  grass,  for 
the  night;  while  the  mate  and  his  two  friends  were  supplied 
with  goat  skins.  During  the  night  the  wind  increased  to  a 
gale,  and  blew  around  the  house  of  sticks  and  rushes  with 
a  mournful  sound. 

As  we  were  worn  out  with  our  severe  labor  of  the  day, 
we  could  exclaim,  with  Sancho  Panza,  "Blessings  on  the 
man  who  invented  sleep."     As  we  all  fell  asleep,  and  the  fire 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  169 

had  burned  out,  when  we  awoke  towards  morning  we  were 
chilled  to  the  very  marrow — as  some  of  us  Lad  not  even 
taken  a  jacket  along.  When  we  aroused  up  and  went  out- 
side the  hut  we  found  that  the  wind  was  blowing  at  a  speed 
of  forty  miles  an  hour,  and  it  was  attended  with  a  drizzling 
rain.  As  the  weather  was  thick  we  couldn't  see  the  ship  in 
the  offing,  and  therefore  we  had  to  bide  our  time  to  get 
aboard  again.  In  this  dilemma  the  mate  obtained  a  couple 
of  fishing  lines,  and  as  the  whaleman  told  him  that  small 
fish  were  plentiful  a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  he  had 
us  launch  the  boat,  and  he  and  his  two  passenger  friends  got 
into  the  boat,  with  two  of  my  shipmates  to  row  the  boat, 
and  he  told  myself  and  my  other  shipmate  to  gather  some 
branches  of  wood  and  obtain  some  kind  of  a  kettle  from  our 
benefactors  wherein  to  cook  the  fish,  if  they  caught  any. 
We  gathered  the  wood  and  started  the  fire.  I  then  ap- 
proached Don  Eusebio,  the  Governor,  and  asked  him,  in  his 
own  language,  the  favor  of  a  loan  of  a  vessel  that  would  be 
suitable  to  cook  the  fish.  As  this  was  the  first  time  that  I 
had  spoken,  he  was  surprised  to  hear  me  address  him  in  his 
own  language.  He  took  me  up  to  his  house  and  gave  me  an 
iron  pot,  also  some  salt,  and  became  quite  communicative. 
He  told  me  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  Spaniard  that  had  come 
to  Chili  from  Santander,  Spain,  and  had  married  and  settled 
in  Valparaiso,  where  he,  the  son,  was  born.  While  he  was 
yet  a  small  boy  his  father  removed  his  family  to  Santiago, 
where  he  was  appointed  to  a  government  position.  His 
father  had  died  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  and  for  that  reason 
he  had  not  obtained  that  preferment  which  his  father,  if  liv- 
ing, could  easily  have  obtained  for  him.  After  he  was  mar- 
ried he  had  enjoyed  a  clerkship  in  a  government  office  until 
his  predecessor,  as  Governor  of  Juan  Fernandez,  had  asked 
to  be  relieved,  on  account  of  his  growiug  children,  whom 
he  desired  to  have  educated,  and  for  that  reason  he  wished 
to  resign,  and  return  to  the  mainland. 

At  this  juncture,  as  the  government  did  not  desire  to  leave 
the  island  entirely  unprotected,  for  fear  that  some  other  na- 
tion might  be  tempted  to  take  possession  for  strategic  pur- 

15 


170  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

poses,  the  position  bad  been  offered  to  him  at  a  salary  that 
was  small  but  still  adequate  to  supply  all  his  moderate  wants. 
He  said  that  the  government  sent  a  vessel  once  every  year 
with  supplies,  and  his  family  and  one  man,  which  the  gov- 
ernment allowed,  comprised  the  force  that  held  the  island. 
He  then  showed  me  his  commission,  which  was  headed, 
"  Don  Eusebio  Domingo  de  Echandea,  Gobernador  de  Juan 
Fernandez,  bajo  el  gobierno  de  Chile."  I  told  him  that  I 
had  been  in  Santander,  where  his  father  was  born ;  that  I  went 
there  from  New  Orleans,  in  a  vessel  loaded  with  leaf  tobacco. 
I  told  him  that  Santander  was  near  Santofia,  a  naval  station 
on  the  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  an  extensive  naval 
arsenal.  When  I  proved  to  him  that  I  knew  of  what  I  was 
speaking,  he  declared  that  had  he  known  it  when  I  landed 
he  would  have  furnished  me  with  the  softest  goat  skins  and 
a  warm  corner  in  his  own  house.  He  then  called  to  his 
daughter  Casilda  and  introduced  me  as  a  person  who  had 
been  in  the  very  place  where  her  grandfather  was  born. 
Casilda  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  appeared  to  be 
very  unsophisticated  and  childish.  She  neither  saluted  me 
nor  even  spoke  to  me.  Soon  the  carroty-headed  whaleman 
came  to  where  we  stood  and  gave  me  such  a  withering  look 
that  I  was  glad  to  return  to  my  work  and  set  the  pot  to  boil- 
ing. About  nine  o'clock  the  boat,  which  had  been  within 
hailing  distance  all  the  time,  came  ashore,  and  we  found 
that  the  fishing  party  had  met  with  good  success. 

As  the  water  was  already  boiling  ai  d  seasoned  with  salt, 
we  soon  cleaned  the  fish  and  boiled  them.  On  the  mate's 
promise  to  return  him  tenfold  the  whaleman  gave  us  a  few 
more  cakes  of  hard  bread,  and  we  had  a  grand  breakfast  of 
boiled  fish  and  bread. 

About  eleven  o'clock  the  wind  moderated  and  the  haze 
lighted.  We  soon  obtained  a  sight  of  the  ship  a  long  dis- 
tance to  the  northward  of  the  island.  As  the  wind  was  fair 
for  us  to  reach  her,  the  mate  ordered  the  boat  to  be  launched 
and  away  we  went,  the  mate  promising  the  whaleman  and 
the  Governor  that  we  would  soon  return  with  the  ship.  We 
now  had  the  advantage  of  a  fair  wind  and  the  sea  right  after 
us,  with  plenty  of  daylight  ahead. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  171 

We  arrived  on  board  the  ship  about  two  o'clock,  and  as 
soon  as  the  boat  was  hoisted  out  of  the  water  the  boat's  crew 
was  allowed  to  go  below  aud  have  their  dinner.  After  we 
had  gone  down  into  the  forecastle  our  shipmates  told  us  that 
when  the  passengers  found  that  we  didn't  return  by  dark, 
they  advised  and  desired  the  captain  to  put  the  ship  before 
the  wind,  and  let  the  boat's  crew  follow  on  the  next  ship  that, 
might  touch  at  the  island.  This  the  captain  flatly  refused  to 
do,  but  put  the  ship  under  close-reefed  topsails  and  stood 
off  and  on  until  the  weather  cleared  up  the  next  day. 

It  took  us  until  noon  the  next  day  to  reach  the  anchorage. 
As  soon  as  we  anchored  in  fifteen  fathoms  of  water,  rocky 
bottom,  all  hands  were  put  to  work  to  prepare  rafts  of  casks 
to  take  ashore  and  fill  with  fresh  water,  which  we  found  to 
be  good  and  abundant,  running  in  cascades  from  the  mount- 
ains. The  way  we  prepared  our  raft  of  casks  was  thus:  A 
cask  was  taken  and  a  quarter  hoop  was  started  at  each  end; 
under  each  of  these  hoops  was  placed  a  small  becket  on  each 
side  and  then  the  hoop  was  driven  back  to  its  place.  Through 
these  beckets  was  passed  a  strong  rope  on  six  or  eight 
casks — a  rope  on  each  side  of  the  casks.  This  makes  a  strong 
raft.  Then  the  boat  takes  it  in  tow  and  it  is  taken  ashore 
to  the  beach,  where  each  cask  is  filled  and  bunged  tight. 
When  all  the  casks  in  the  raft  are  filled  the  raft  is  towed 
back  to  the  ship  and  each  cask  is  hooked  on  to  in  its  turn 
with  canhooks  or  else  put  in  slings  and  hoisted  on  deck.  The 
crew  were  kept  busy  in  getting  the  water  and  the  wood  on 
board. 

The  island  we  found  to  be  a  veritable  paradise.  It  is  of 
a  lava  formation  and  shows  that  it  was  in  some  remote  age 
thrown  up  by  some  terrible  convulsion  of  nature  out  of  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  until  it  reached  an  altitude  of  at  least 
five  thousand  feet  in  places,  and  the  peaks  looked  as  symmet- 
rical and  shapely  as  church  spires.  It  was  divided  into 
alcoves,  with  high,  precipitous  promontories  for  sides,  and 
it  required  the  use  of  a  boat  to  go  from  one  recess  to  the 
next  one. 

The  place  of  anchorage  was  in  front  of  a  charming  sylvan 


172 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 


spot  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  frontage,  facing  the  ocean 
and  reaching  back  by  a  gentle  rise  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  to  the  foot  of  inaccessible  cliffs.  This  little  valley  was 
a  real  paradise.  It  was  bounded  by  umbrageous  trees  as 
well  as  stocked  with  fruit  trees  of  many  varieties.  Peaches 
were  at  this  time  in  their  full  maturity;  quinces  so  large 
that  they  astonished  the  farmers  who  had  emigrated  from  the 
bleak  northern  hemisphere;  wild  oats  in  the  fullness  of  har- 
vest time;  figs  to  be  had  for  the  picking.  In  a  word  it  was 
a  most  beautiful  oasis  in  midocean. 

Of  animals  there  were  wild  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  goats 
and  dogs.  One  of  these  dogs  was  brought  here  on  board  of 
another  ship  by  a  gentleman  named  Tarbett,  and  he  named 
him  Juan.  He  was  captured  when  young.  He  was  fawn- 
colored,  and  was  gentle  and  very  affectionate  to  his  master. 
Although  all  these  animals  were  there,  not  a  cow  nor  a  horse 
had  Governor  Echandea  iu  domesticity;  they  were  all  wild 
and  unconfined. 


JhA^    I'liKiNANUHZ. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  173 

Juan  Fernandez  is  in  lat.  33  37  soutli  and  long.  78  43 
west.  It  is  distant  about  three  hundred  and  seventy  miles 
from  Chile,  to  which  republic  it  belongs.  The  climate  is 
similar  to  that  of  South  Carolina,  excepting  the  intense 
South  Carolina  heat  of  midsummer.  It  was  at  one  time  a 
penal  colony,  where  prisoners  were  kept  in  banishment  for  a 
period.  The  caves  wherein  they  lived  were  still  to  be  seen, 
and  it  was  from  this  circumstance  that  so  many  horses  and 
cattle  were  there,  as  when  the  garrison  and  the  prisoners 
were  withdrawn  the  few  horses  and  cattle  were  left  behind 
and  since  that  time  had  increased  wonderfully  in  that  genial 
climate. 

Our  passengers  formed  themselves  into  gunning  parties 
and  sallied  forth  with  anticipations  of  successful  sport,  but 
they  returned  disappointed,  for  when  they  sighted  the  game 
it  was  on  some  inaccessible  cliff,  so  that,  although  it  was 
killed,  it  would  fall  into  an  abyss  from  whence  it  could  not 
be  recovered.  Although  the  hunters  returned  to  the  ship 
with  empty  game  bags,  such  was  not  the  case  with  the  pas- 
sengers who  went  out  in  the  boat  to  the  fishing  ground,  a 
cable  length  from  the  ship.  Their  catching  of  the  fish  was 
.limited  only  by  the  capacity  of  the  cooks  to  fry  them.  We 
had  fried  fish  at  every  meal  while  we  were  in  the  harbor. 
After  such  a  dearth  of  fresh  food  the  supply  of  abundance 
of  fish  and  fruit  was  truly  a  delicious  feast. 

After  two  days  of  incessant  labor,  at  noon  on  the  third 
day  the  wood  and  the  water  were  got  on  board,  and  then  the 
captain  told  the  mate  to  give  the  crew  a  half  holiday  until 
six  P.  M.,  at  which  time  he  would  weigh  anchor. 

As  Governor  Echandea  had  told  us  that  the  cave  of  Rob- 
inson Crusoe  was  about  one  and  a  half  miles  to  the  west- 
ward, in  a  small  cove  that  could  be  easily  reached  by  a  boat, 
but  would  take  a  day  to  go  by  land,  we  asked  the  mate  for 
permission  to  use  one  of  the  boats  for  the  purpose.  We 
accordingly  took  the  boat,  and  four  of  us  rowed  around  the 
promontory  into  the  cove  of  which  I  had  read  so  much  in 
the  delightful  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  The  little  cove  is 
a  repetition  of  the  one  where  the  ship  was  laying,  but  very 


174  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

diminutive  in  size.  The  cave  was  a  few  rods  from  the  mar- 
gin of  the  sea,  on  an  elevation  opening  towards  the  sea,  and 
from  which  the  recluse  had  a  full  view,  and  a  visual  sweep 
of  the  ocean. 

It  was  here  that  the  poor  shipwrecked  mariner  passed 
four  lonely  years  of  his  adventurous  life.  It  was  here  that 
he  trained  his  goats,  watched  the  seafowls  and  the  wild 
beasts  that  roamed  around  on  the  precipitous  cliflfs.  It  was 
on  this  very  spot  thnt  he  had  cultivated  his  little  garden. 
The  poor  fellow!  I  could  almost  picture  him  as  standing  be- 
fore me,  with  his  unique  garments  of  goat  skins,  looking, 
with  longing  eyes,  out  upon  the  broad  expanse  of  ocean  to, 
perchance,  discover  some  friendly  sail,  that  might  be  di- 
rected hitherward  by  a  kind  Providence,  to  rescue  the  poor 
shipwrecked  mariner. 

While  contemplating  this  beautiful  glade,  interspersed 
with  peach  and  quince  trees,  the  pathetic  lines  of  Crusoe's 
poem  occurred  to  my  mind: 

"  I'm  monarch  of  all  I  survey, 

My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute. 

From  the  center,  all  round  to  the  sea, 

I'm  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute. 

O!  solitude  where  are  the  charms, 

That  sages  have  seen  in  thy  face. 
Better  dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms. 

Than  reign  in  this  horrible  place. 

I'm  out  of  humanity's  reach, 

I  must  finish  my  journey  alone. 
Never  hear  the  sweet  music  of  speech, 

I  start  at  the  sound  of  my  own. 

The  wild  fowl  has  flown  to  her  nest. 
The  wild  beast  has  gone  to  his  lair. 

Even  here  there's  a  season  of  rest, 
And  I  must  to  my  cabin  repair. 

There's  mercy  in  every  place, 

And  mercy  encouraging  thought 
Gives  even  affliction  a  grace. 

And  reconciles  man  to  his  lot." 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  175 

As  we  had  no  timepiece  with  us  the  lengthening  shadows  of 
the  mountain  peaks  admonished  us  that  it  was  time  to  return 
to  the  ship.  We  launched  our  boat,  in  which  act  we  were 
well  baptized  by  the  waters  of  Crusoe's  cove.  We  made  our 
way  back  to  the  ship  and  were  in  time  to  turn  to  work  and 
get  the  ship  under  way.  The  chain  was  hove  short,  all  the 
sails  were  loosed,  the  bunts  were  dropped  and  sails  sheeted 
home,  the  yards  mast-headed,  the  anchor  was  tripped,  and 
away  we  went  on  the  home-stretch  for  San  Francisco.  As 
we  squared  away  for  the  equator  the  order  was  given  to  put 
all  sail  on  the  ship.  By  eight  o'clock  P.  m.  we  had  every 
drawing  sail  on  the  ship,  topgallant  stun 'sails  and  all,  and 
she  was  reeling  it  off  at  about  ten  knots  an  hour. 

At  eight  bells  the  watches  were  set,  and  the  watch  on 
deck  was  kept  busy  lashing  the  water  casks.  At  eight  bells, 
when  the  other  watch  came  on  deck,  they  had  to  take  up  the 
work  where  the  other  watch  left  it.  And  the  work  was  con- 
tinued until  all  the  water  casks  were  lashed,  the  wood  stowed, 
and  the  immense  gathering  of  fruit  packed  away,  and  every- 
thing made  ship-shape  again. 

After  we  had  left  the  island  everybody  on  board  showed 
an  unusual  buoyancy  of  spirits;  they  felt  that  the  worst  part 
of  the  tedious  journey  was  over  and  that  they  would  soon 
reach  the  goal  of  their  ambition,  there  to  engage  in  the  de- 
lightful occupation  of  filling  their  pouches  with  glittering, 
shining  gold. 

After  the  passengers  had  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of 
their  three  days  tramping  and  climbing  on  the  island,  they 
began  to  utilize  their  great  store  of  fruits:  peach  pies,  peach 
puddings,  and  stewed  quinces  were  their  daily  fare,  all  pre- 
pared by  themselves,  as  the  cooks  were  not  equal  to  the  task 
of  doing  more  than  the  most  ordinary  cooking,  while  we,  the 
sailors,  were  well  satisfied  to  eat  the  peaches  in  their  natural 
condition. 

March  26th,  lat.  29  45  S.,  long.  83  06  W.,  wind  south- 
east. We  have  now  steady  trade-winds  and  very  pleasant 
weather;  everything  that  can  pull  a  pound  is  on  the  ship — 
stun'sails  on  both  sides,  with  steady  breeze  right  aft. 


176  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

I  think  that  the  officers  of  the  ship  are  throwing  off  that 
reserve  which  is  deemed  essential  to  the  maintenance  of 
good  discipline  on  board  of  a  ship.  I  have  noticed  this 
same  disposition  on  board  of  other  ships.  When  we  were 
near  the  end  of  the  voyage  the  officers  would  show  more  ur- 
banity of  manner  towards  the  crew,  although  there  was  no 
laxity  of  necessary  dicipline.  As  the  nights  were  very 
pleasant,  and  the  wind  being  dead  aft,  it  left  us  nothing  to 
do  but  to  walk  the  deck.  At  this  time,  Mr.  Mulroony,  the 
second  mate,  threw  off  the  reserve  that  appertained  to  his 
station,  and  unbosomed  himself  to  me  as  to  his  plans  and 
purposes.  He  told  me  that  he  was  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia, 
and  had  served  his  apprenticeship  on  board  of  a  vessel  of 
his  native  province,  and  after  he  was  out  of  his  time  had 
been  promoted  to  the  position  of  second  mate  of  a  ship. 
The  captain,  under  whom  he  had  served  his  time,  urged  him 
to  stick  by  him,  and  that  he  would  advance  him  to  the  posi- 
tion of  chief  mate  as  soon  he  could  pass  the  necessary  ex- 
amination. But  he  said  that  he  had  become  tired  of  going 
voyage  after  voyage  to  Liverpool  with  a  ship  loaded  with 
deals.  He  was  inspired  by  an  ambition  to  see  other  parts 
of  the  world,  and  for  that  reason  he  had  left  his  ship  in 
Saint  Johns,  New  Brunswick,  and  had  gone  to  Boston, 
where,  with  the  recommendation  from  the  owners  and  cap- 
tain of  the  ship  on  which  he  had  sailed  so  long,  he  expe- 
rienced no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  berth  as  the  second  mate 
of  the  ship  "  Vancouver,"  in  the  China  trade.  He  had  made 
one  voyage  on  the  ship  to  Hongkong,  and  would  have  con- 
tinued in  the  ship  if  the  California  fever  had  not  broken  out, 
which  induced  him  to  ship  on  the  "  Urania"  to  go  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  try  his  fortune  in  that  golden  land.  He  said  that 
he  had  stipulated  with  the  captain  and  owners  that  he  would 
leave  the  ship  when  she  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  from 
whence  he  intended  to  go  the  mines,  and,  if  success  should 
attend  his  efforts,  he  would  return  to  his  native  land.  Nova 
Scotia,  where  there  was  a  sweet  little  cherub  awaiting  his 
return,  and  then  they  would  be  married  and  settle  down  in 
a  cosy  little  nook,  a  short  distance  inside  of  Sambro  light- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  177 

house,  where  he  could  keep  his  boat  and  catch  codfish  and 
haddock,  set  his  lobster  pot,  and  be  as  grand  as  the  gover- 
nor of  the  Province.  "Why,"  said  he,  "I  found,  after  I 
came  up  to  Boston,  that  the  Yankees  think  that  America  be- 
gins at  Old  Quoddy  Head,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saint  Croix 
river — that  divides  the  United  States  from  New  Brunswick — 
and  they  think  it  ends  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  but  I  can  tell 
you  that  they  are  laboring  under  a  delusion.  While  it  is 
admitted,  all  the  world  over,  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  are  a  great  people — that  they  produce  fine  mechanics, 
great  inventors,  and  very  enterprising  merchants — they  must 
understand  that  all  the  balance  of  the  world  is  not  standing 
still.  There  are  the  provinces  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova 
Scotia;  they  build  and  turn  out  as  fine  modeled  and  well 
built  vessels  as  can  be  seen  in  the  port  of  Liverpool  to- 
day. I  have  seen  the  '  Ocean  Monarch,'  built  by  Donald  Mac 
Kay,  in  East  Boston.  She  was  a  splendid  specimen  of  naval 
architecture,  but  I  have  seen  just  as  fine  in  Saint  Johns, 
New  Brunswick." 

March  24th.  W^e  now  have  a  continuous  steady  breeze, 
and  going  along  at  about  seven  knots  per  hour.  As  we  have 
watch  and  watch  and  have  only  to  sway  up  the  yards  by  the 
halyard,  every  twenty-four  hours,  it  seems  to  us  like  a  con- 
tinuous holiday. 

Every  night  watch  on  deck,  unless  it  is  my  trick  at  the 
wheel  or  my  lookout  forward,  the  second  mate  comes  to  the 
waist  of  the  ship  as  soon  as  the  passengers  go  below,  and 
resumes  his  conversation. 

In  speaking  of  ship  building,  he  said:  "The  Yankees 
built  a  topsail  schooner  in  Eastport,  Maine,  to  run  as  a 
packet  to  Boston.  She  was  a  beauty,  and  a  very  fast  sailer, 
and  she  was  called  the  'Echo.'  They  challenged  the  world 
to  excel  her.  Well,  without  the  blowing  of  trumpets,  the 
'  Blue  Noses,'  as  they  call  us  of  the  Provinces,  went  to  work 
and  built  a  little  full-rigged  brig  for  the  Boston  trade,  and 
called  her  the  'Boston.'  She  runs  between  Halifax  and 
Boston.  She  looked  around  for  the  famous  'Echo.'  At 
last  they  met,  off  the  Island  of  Grand  Mennan,  both  bound 

16 


178  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

to  Bostou;  wind  southwest  dead  ahead.  The  race  began. 
It  was  in  the  summer,  and  the  wind  on  the  New  England 
coast  during  the  summer  season  blows  about  southwest, 
with  the  regularity  of  a  trade  wind. 

"The  captain  of  each  vessel  realized  that  it  wasn't  sim- 
ply a  race  between  two  fast  sailing  vessels,  but  it  was  be- 
tween New  England  shipbuilders  and  the  shipbuilders  of 
the  British  Provinces.  Well,  sir,  the  *  Boston,'  although  a 
square-rigger,  and  having  to  beat  to  windward,  right  in  the 
wind's  eye,  arrived  in  Boston  eight  hours  before  the  'Echo,' 
thereby  proving  to  Brother  Jonathan  that  while  he  is  mak- 
ing long  strides  in  ship  building  that  the  rest  of  the  world 
is  not  standing  still.  " 

I  was  impressed  by  the  remarks  of  the  second  mate. 
When  a  good  man  is  speaking  of  his  native  country  it 
brings  out  the  best  attributes  that  are  in  his  nature.  And 
that  can  truthfully  be  said  of  the  people  that  are  born  under 
the  English  flag — in  Gibralter,  Malta,  or  the  West  Indies  it 
is  the  same. 

I  remember  that  the  Negroes  on  the  Island  of  Barbadoes 
had  a  saying,  "  Queen  Victoria,  never  fear  so  long  as  Bar- 
badoes stand  strong." 

March  30th,  lat.  17  31  S.,  long.  93  12  W.  The  wind 
during  the  past  four  days  h.as  been  light  and  our  headway 
has  been  correspondingly  slow.  The  weather  is  now  be- 
coming very  warm  and  the  crew  has  been  kept  busy  sewing 
windsails  to  be  placed  in  the  hatchways  to  cool  the  'tween 
decks.  The  quarter-deck  is  protected  by  an  awning,  and  as 
the  wind  is  light,  the  ladies  seat  themselves  on  the  trunk  of 
the  cabin  and  sew  and  knit  just  as  if  they  were  at  home. 

The  contrast  between  the  ship  off  Cape  Horn  on  Febru- 
ary 25th  and  her  appearance  March  30th  is  really  remarka- 
ble, showing  what  a  change  in  the  temperature  it  makes 
between  59  06  south  latitude  and  17  31.  Whereas  February 
25th  was  intensely  cold  and  unpleasant,  to-day,  March  30th, 
the  weather  is  so  warm  that  the  passengers  in  the  'tween- 
decks  cabin  have  to  be  furnished  with  windsails  to  promote 
their  comfort. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  179 

The  passengers  are  now  engaged  in  the  pleasant  task  of 
examining  their  boats,  of  which  there  are  several  on  board. 
Others  are  washing  and  mending  their  clothes  in  true  do- 
mestic style,  thereby  showing  their  capacity  to  "rough  it" 
when  they  reach  the  mines.  I  observe  that  nearly  all  the 
passengers  show  a  degree  of  self-reliance  that  augurs  well 
for  their  success  in  a  new  country. 

April  4th,  lat.  10  16  south,  long.  94  03  west.  Since  we 
sailed  from  Juan  Fernandez  we  have  had  an  uninterrupted 
spell  of  pleasant  weather,  thereby  verifying  the  fact  that  the 
Pacific  Ocean  is  rightly  named,  as  the  word  ' '  Pacific " 
signifies  peaceful,  calm,  tranquil,  and  such  has  been  the 
state  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  since  we  sailed  from  Juan  Fer- 
nandez. 

It  reminded  me  of  the  old  lady  who  took  passage  on  a 
packet  sloop  that  ran  from  Boston  to  Yarmouth  Port,  Cape 
Cod.  As  on  that  day  the  wind  was  fair,  the  crew  had  noth- 
ing particular  to  do  during  the  passage  of  sixty  miles  dis- 
tance. After  she  had  arrived  at  her  friend's  home,  the 
subject  of  a  seafaring  life  was  discussed,  as  nearly  every 
man  and  boy  on  the  Cape  went  to  sea  for  a  living.  This 
lady,  after  her  brief  experience  on  the  packet  sloop,  ex- 
pressed her  opinion  thus:  "I  don't  think  it  a  hard  life  to 
go  to  sea,  for  I  see  that  the  sailors  have  nothing  more  to  do 
than  to  sit  around  the  deck  and  have  the  wind  blow  them 
along." 

Such  was  our  actual  experience.  During  this  pleasant 
weather,  in  the  daytime,  the  crew  was  kept  at  work  tarring 
the  rigging,  scraping  and  slushing  the  masts,  and,  as  the. 
sea  was  smooth,  there  were  stagings  slung  over  the  side  of 
the  ship  and  we  were  set  to  work  to  paint  ship. 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Mulroony  would  resume  his  conver- 
sation on  his  favorite  topic.  "Now  then,"  he  would  say, 
"about  originality.  Whoever  thought  of  such  a  thing  as 
taking  logs  and  squaring  their  sides  and  shaping  them  into 
the  form  of  a  sailing  craft,  and  navigating  them  across  the 
Atlantic  Ocean '?  You  may  think  it  was  the  Yankee,  but  I 
say  it  was  our  people;  it  was  they  that  first  originated  the 


180  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

idea  and  carried  it  out  to  a  successful  issue  by  sailing  a  raft 
of  timber  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  Liverpool.  Why," 
said  he,  "  it  is  only  lately  that  the  Yankees  have  paid  much 
attention  to  naval  architecture.  They  used  to  buy  ships 
from  England,  France,  and  other  countries  of  Europe." 

I  interposed  by  saying  that  I  had  read  in  history  that  the 
first  ship  built  in  America  was  as  early  as  the  year  161G,  and 
that  it  was  in  New  York,  and  she  was  called  "  The  Kestless." 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "T  can't  dispute  that,  as  I  don't 
know  about  it;  but  what  is  one  ship  ?  England  had  ships 
sailing  to  every  part  of  the  world  long  before  that  period: 
and  to-day  for  one  ship  that  you  see  that  flies  the  American 
flag,  you'll  see  five  of  England's  winged  messengers  of  trade 
penetrating  every  corner  of  the  commercial  world,  and  wher- 
ever you  find  an  English  merchantman  you  may  depend  on 
it  that  an  English  man-of-war  is  not  far  off,  to  protect  that 
merchant  ship,  and  that  is  what  promotes  England's  com- 
mercial supremacy.  I  can  tell  you  that  England  is  the 
greatest  nation  in  the  world  to  foster  trade  and  commerce, 
and  the  consequence  is  that  England  is  the  money  center  of 
the  world." 

I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  progenitors  of  Mr. 
Mulroony  must  have  been  of  those  that  left  the  American 
Colonies  and  settled  in  the  British  Provinces  of  North 
America,  where  they  continued  their  allegiance  to  their  be- 
loved sovereign,  King  George  the  Third,  and  their  descend- 
ant, who  was  now  on  board  the  "  Urania,"  was  imbued  with 
the  sentiments  of  his  progenitors. 

April  11th,  lat.  3  06  south,  long.  103  25  west.  We  are 
now  near  the  equatorial  line.  To-day  one  of  the  crew  asked 
Mr.  Bard  ell,  the  amateur  navigator,  what  was  the  position 
of  the  ship  on  this  day  by  his  reckoning.  He  answered  that 
we  were  then  in  lat.  30  minutes  south,  right  directly  on  the 
equatorial  line,  and  long.  79  10  west. 

The  sailor  asked  Mr.  Mulroony,  the  second  mate,  if  he 
would  do  him  the  favor  of  pricking  off  that  position  on  the 
chart  by  the  divider.  About  one  hour  afterwards  the  second 
mate  informed  the  questioner  that  he  had  examined  the 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  181 

chart,  and  by  measurement  it  placed  the  ship  near  the  city 
of  Quito,  a  city  on  the  Andes  Mountains  about  ten  thousand 
feet  above  the  ocean  level.  When  Mr.  Bardell  was  told  of 
this  he  was  not  the  least  disconcerted,  but  answered  that  he 
had,  when  a  boy,  made  a  summer  voyage  to  the  Grand  Bank, 
codfishing,  as  cook  of  a  schooner,  and  the  captain  used  to 
tell  him  to  serve  the  largest  doughnut  and  fullest  turnover 
pie  to  the  man  that  was  high  line  at  that  time;  acd  now, 
according  to  the  same  rule,  he  himself  ought  to  be  served 
with  the  best  of  everything  on  the  cabin  table. 

After  this  denouement  the  quadrant  was  never  brought 
on  deck,  and  Mr.  Scudder  and  Mr.  Bardell  turned  their  at- 
tention to  sewing  and  the  making  of  a  tent  of  cotton  drilling 
to  shelter  them  in  the  mining  regions.  We  had  now  lost  the 
trade  wind  and  were  in  the  variables. 

The  second  mate  had  now  discontinued  his  night  watch 
dissertations,  as  his  duties  required  all  his  time.  What  with 
trimming  sails,  conning  the  helm  and  watching  the  varia- 
tions in  the  wind  and  weather,  he  was  kept  on  the  qui  vive 
during  every  watch  after  this  until  we  arrived  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, after  which  time  I  never  saw  him  again. 

The  wind  was  now  light  and  baffling,  veering  all  round 
the  compass,  and  the  heat  was  oppressive.  The  effect  upon 
the  passengers  was  quite  apparent;  dullness  and  lassitude 
seemed  to  pervade  the  whole  ship. 

April  14th,  hit.  2  08  north,  long.  104  16  west.  The  wind 
is  very  light,  while  the  heat  is  very  oppressive.  To-day  an 
affair  happened  which  at  most  any  other  time  would  have 
been  attended  with  fatal  results. 

Man  Falls  Overboard. 

There  was  among  the  passengers  a  gentleman  somewhat 
advanced  in  years,  and  accompanied  by  two  of  his  sons, 
young  and  active  men.  I  was  informed  that  he  was  from 
some  town  in  Worcester  county,  Mass.,  and  his  name  was 
Boutwell.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  education,  and  owned  a 
fine  farm  and  was  in  affluent  circumstances  at  home.  But 
like  thousands  of  other  men  who  never  seem  to  know  when 


182  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

they  have  enough  of  this  world's  goods,  he  had  left  his  home 
to  participate  in  the  general  scramble  for  wealth.  He  was 
a  studious  man,  and  for  that  reason  I  had  only  seen  him  on 
deck  three  or  four  times  from  the  time  that  I  came  on  board 
the  ship  in  Rio  de  Janeiro.  On  this  day  it  was  our  forenoon 
watch  on  deck.  We  were  engaged  in  our  work  of  cleaning 
and  painting,  when,  about  six  bells,  the  fearful  cry  rang  out 
loud,  "Man  overboard!  man  overboard!"  As  the  passen- 
gers were  most  all  on  deck  at  the  time  the  confusion  that 
ensued  was  embarrassing.  The  crew  jumped  for  the  star- 
board quarter  boat  and  soon  had  it  in  the  water.  As  the 
wind  was  very  light  and  the  sea  very  smooth,  the  crew  soon 
got  away  from  the  ship  and  grasped  the  drowning  man  be- 
fore he  sunk  for  the  last  time,  and  took  him  in  the  boat  and 
returned  to  the  ship.  All  this  time  the  ship  had  been 
brought  up  to  the  wind  and  the  yards  hove  aback.  After 
the  rescued  man  had  been  taken  on  deck  he  proved  to  be 
Mr.  Boutwell. 

It  seems  that  he  had  been  reading  the  Holy  Bible  with 
unusual  earnestness  and  had  conceived  in  his  mind  that  he 
was  inspired  by  faith  equal  to  that  of  Abraham  when  he 
went  up  into  the  mountain  to  offer  his  son  Isaac  as  a  sacri- 
fice. On  that  day  he  put  his  faith  to  a  practical  test,  and 
the  result  was  a  lamentable  failure,  for  when  he  essayed  to 
walk  on  the  water  he  soon  found  himself  sinking,  the  same 
as  any  other  man  that  didn't  possess  any  extraordinary  de- 
gree of  sanctity. 

After  this  voluntary  bath  in  the  broad  Pacific,  Capt. 
Buckland  enjoined  on  his  two  sons  the  absolute  necessity  of 
guarding  their  father  incessantly  until  the  ship  should  ar- 
rive in  San  Francisco. 

I  think  I  did  not  see  him  again  while  I  was  on  board  the 
ship.  This  occurrence  caused  considerable  talk  among  the 
passengers  about  the  cupidity  of  men  who  already  possess 
an  abundance  of  wealth  and  yet  are  ready  to  risk  their 
precious  necks  in  the  scramble  for  more. 

April  15th,  lat.  9  45  north,  long.  112  06  west.  The  wind 
is  very  light  and  the  weather  is  hot.     The  windsails  leading 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  183 

below  the  hatches  give  a  mouthful  of  air  to  the  passengers, 
but  as  we  have  nothing  of  that  kind  leading  down  into  the 
forecastle  it  is  as  hot  as  an  oven  down  there. 

As  the  weather  is  pleasant  many  of  the  passengers  have 
brought  up  their  blankets  and  picked  out  spots  on  top  of 
the  water  casks  where  they  pass  the  night. 

April  20th.  A  young  man  named  Conkling,  a  native  of 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  has  become  so  seriously  affected  by  the 
heat  that  he  has  become  a  simpleton  and  incapable  of  taking 
care  of  himself.  It  seems  that  he  had  become  so  careless 
about  himself  that  his  fellow-passengers  hustled  him  out  of 
the  'tween  decks  and  forced  him  on  deck.  When  the  cap- 
tain investigated  the  matter  he  ordered  some  of  the  crew  to 
take  the  young  man  in  hand  and  to  care  for  him.  When  the 
men  were  putting  clean  clothes  upon  the  poor,  simple,  good- 
natured  fellow,  they  found  a  belt  upon  his  person  which  was 
opened  in  the  presence  of  the  captain  and  was  found  to  con- 
tain five  hundred  dollars  in  gold  coin,  in  five  and  ten  dollar 
pieces.  This  money  was  turned  over  to  the  captain's  care, 
to  be  returned  to  the  young  man  when  the  ship  arrived  in 
San  Francisco.  Clean  washing  and  clean  clothes  had  a  very 
beneficial  effect  upon  him  and  in  a  measure  restored  his 
faculties. 

As  I  have  said  before  the  "  Urania"  carried  a  very  large 
longboat  turned  over  on  top  of  the  forward  house,  and  the 
bow  of  the  boat  projected  over  the  house  some  two  feet  to 
the  foremast,  which  enabled  a  person  to  go  up  under  the 
boat,  where  he  had  ample  room. 

By  direction  of  the  mate  what  dunnage  was  stowed  away 
under  the  longboat  was  taken  out  and  a  clean  bed  with  clean 
bedding  was  arranged  by  the  crew,  which  became  the  state- 
room of  Mr.  Conkling  until  the  ship  arrived  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

April  22d.  We  now  have  the  wind  south-southwest  and 
everything  is  on  the  ship,  and  the  sea  being  as  smooth  as  a 
millpond  she  is  making  latitude  very  rapidly.  By  observa- 
tion at  noon  our  latitude  was  15  03  north,  long.  119  25  west. 
We  now  have  the  prospect  of  arriving  at  our  port  of  destina- 


184  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

tiou  in  a  short  time,  and  the  passengers  are  now  preparing 
to  invade  an  unknown  country,  where  they  expect  to  en- 
counter Indians  and  wild  beasts. 

The  deck  is  looking  like  a  veritable  arsenal.  Guns,  pis- 
tols, bowie-knives,  powder  flasks,  and  other  death-dealing 
apparatus  that  a  man  may  need  in  a  new,  unexplored  coun- 
try, can  now  be  seen  in  the  process  of  being  cleaned  and 
prepared  for  action  when  needed. 

Young  Conkling,  in  his  new  quarters  under  the  longboat, 
is  quite  contented  and  is  gaining  in  flesh.  He  is  constantly 
around  the  sailors,  seeming  to  look  upon  them  as  his  only 
friends.  The  case  of  this  young  man  is  really  a  sad  one, 
and  as  I  heard  it,  it  excited  my  commiseration.  I  was  in- 
formed that  he  was  the  youngest  of  three  brothers  in  Berk- 
shire county,  Mass.,  who  had  inherited  a  patrimony  of  a  fine 
farm  and  a  large  tract  of  wood  land  near  Pittsfield.  They 
labored  on  their  farm  during  the  summer  and  chopped  wood 
during  the  winter,  which  they  marketed  in  the  neighboring 
town  the  ensuing  fall.  And  thus  they  would  have  remained 
satisfied  but  for  the  California  fever  which  swept  all  New 
England  like  a  whirlwind.  The  brothers  resolved  to  make 
a  venture  by  sending  the  youngest  brother,  as  did  the  an- 
cient Israelites,  "to  spy  out  the  land."  The  bountiful 
manner  in  which  the  young  man  had  been  fitted  out  gave 
proof  of  how  well  they  had  performed  their  task  and  their 
ability  to  do  so.  Their  impatience  to  become  suddenly  very 
rich  is  proof  that  man  is  always  reaching  for  that  which  is 
unattainable  on  earth — that  is,  perfect,  unalloyed  felicity. 

April  25th,  lat.  21  15  north,  long.  114  05  west.  We  are 
now  looking  for  and  longing  for  the  day  which  we  now  think 
is  near,  when  we  shall  be  set  free  from  this  ship,  the  same 
as  a  lot  of  imprisoned  birds  are  released  from  an  aviary. 
We  sight  vessels  now  nearly  every  day.  We  now  can  see 
that  we  are  nearing  the  focus  of  our  hopes  and  anticipations. 

April  28th,  lat.  30  12  north,  long.  119  06  west.  We  are 
now  reaching  for  our  long  expected  central  point,  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  lat.  37  47  55  north,  long.  122  24  52  west. 

We  now  have  a  spanking  breeze  abeam,  and  this  ship 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  185 

shows  her  best  speed  with  the  wind  abeam.  Every  man  on 
board  appears  to  labor  under  unusual  excitement,  and  all 
seem  to  be  nervous  and  eager  to  know  how  fast  the  ship  is 
going  through  the  water. 

At  eight  bells  the  mate  sung  out,  "Heave  the  log!" 
"Aye,  aye,  sir,"  answered  the  men,  and  while  one  of  them 
fetched  the  logline  twenty  or  more  of  the  passengers  came 
trooping  aft  to  ascertain  the  speed  of  the  ship.  "When  the 
line  had  been  run  out,  the  mate  announced  the  speed  as 
"  nine  knots." 

As  I  had  the  first  trick  at  the  wheel  during  the  first  watch 
that  night  Capt.  Buckland,  who  was  walking  on  the  weather 
side  of  the  quarter-deck,  approached  the  binnacle,  looked 
into  the  compass,  and  as  he  stood  there  he  addressed  me  for 
the  first  time  since  I  had  been  on  board  the  ship:  "  Well, 
young  man,  how  do  you  like  the  change  in  ships  that  you 
have  made?"  "I  like  it  very  much,  sir,  I  thank  you;  and 
furthermore,  sir,  I  shall  never  forget  your  kindness  in  hav- 
ing given  me  a  berth  on  board  this  ship."  "As  to  that," 
said  he,  "  by  what  my  officers  tell  me,  I  think  that  you  have 
earned  your  passage;  but  I  advise  you  in  the  future  not  to 
put  yourself  in  a  position  in  a  foreign  port,  nor  in  any  other 
port,  where  you  will  have  to  beg  your  passage.  Had  it  not 
been  that  your  acquaintance  had  recommended  you  as  being 
a  respectable  man,  I  would  not  have  allowed  you  to  come 
on  board  my  ship,  for  my  experience  has  taught  me  to  be- 
ware of  beach-combers  in  South  American  ports."  By 
speaking  thus  of  beach-combers,  Capt.  Buckland  was  al- 
luding to  abandoned,  dissolute  sailors,  that  either  run 
away  or  are  driven  away  from  ships,  particularly  whale- 
ships,  because  they  are  evil-disposed  mischief  breeders,  and 
are  called  beach-combers  because  while  they  are  ashore 
they  work  on  board  of  lighters,  unloading  cargoes  from  the 
ships  in  the  harbors  where  there  are  no  wharves.  That  was 
the  only  time  that  Capt.  Buckland  ever  spoke  to  me,  for 
after  the  ship  arrived  in  San  Francisco  I  never  met  him; 
but  as  I  said  before,  while  he  was  a  man  of  few  words  he 
was  a  kind  hearted  gentleman. 

17 


186  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

April  30th,  lat.  32  49  north,  long.  120  03  west.  The  fan- 
weather  has  left  us  and  we  have  the  wind  about  west-north- 
west and  hazy  weather.  The  ship  now  looks  trim  and 
shapely,  as  the  topmasts  and  topgallant  and  royalmasts  have 
all  been  scraped  and  slushed,  the  bulwarks  painted  inside 
and  out,  as  well  as  the  bends  of  the  ship.  The  boats  were 
all  painted  on  the  inside  and  on  the  outside.  In  fact,  I 
think  there  was  more  work  done  on  the  "  Urania,"  in  watch 
and  watch,  than  there  would  have  been  if  all  hands  had  been 
kept  on  deck  during  the  afternoons  after  we  got  into  pleasant 
weather. 

The  steward  and  the  cooks  seemed  to  feel  the  necessity 
of  conciliating  the  crew  when  we  were  so  near  to  the  end  of 
the  voyage,  and  they  prepared  for  us  a  treat  that  I  had  not 
partaken  of  since  I  had  joined  the  "  Urania."  We  were  re- 
galed with  dried  apple  pies  one  day  this  week,  and  to-night, 
for  our  supper,  they  passed  to  us  out  of  the  galley  a  tin  pan 
heaping  full  of  doughnuts. 

May  2d,  lat.  35  09  north,  long.  121  16  west.  We  are  now, 
all  of  us,  on  the  tenter  hooks  of  expectation. 

To-day  we  have  sighted  five  vessels,  all  of  them  steering 
in  the  same  direction  as  ourselves. 

This  night  the  mates  ordered  that  two  men  should  take  a 
lookout  station  on  the  topgallant  forecastle,  one  on  the 
weather  bow  and  one  on  the  lee  bow.  We  had  the  middle 
watch  on  this  night,  and  it  seemed  a  short  watch  because  of 
the  passengers,  who  tramped  around  the  decks  all  night 
long.  Every  half  hour  some  one  of  them  would  come  for- 
ward and  hail  with,  "Say,  do  you  see  anything?"  "No, 
sir,"  I  would  answer,  "only  the  light  from  the  vessel  on  our 
lee  quarter." 

When  the  larboard  watch  was  called  at  four  A.  m.  and  we 
were  relieved  we  left  a  number  of  passengers  on  deck  who 
had  not  turned  in  during  the  night. 

When  our  watch  was  called  at  seven  bells  we  received 
from  the  galley  for  breakfast  that  which  astonished  our 
stomachs;  it  was  nothing  less  than  fried  ham  and  boiled 
rice.     This  fare  was  unprecedented.     We  hadn't  seen  any- 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  187 

thing  of  the  kind  since  we  left  E-io,  and  the  members  of  the 
crew  told  me  that  it  was  the  first  time  that  fried  ham  had 
been  passed  into  the  forecastle  since  the  ship  left  Boston. 

May  3d.  By  observation  at  noon  our  position  was  lat. 
37  03  north,  long.  122  50  west. 

After  the  captain  had  examined  his  chart,  which  he 
placed  on  the  capstan,  and  pricked  off  the  position  of  the 
ship,  he  told  the  mate  to  send  a  man  aloft  to  the  foretopmast 
crosstrees  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  land.  When  the  pas- 
sengers heard  this  order  they  were  in  a  tremor  of  excite- 
ment, and  some  of  the  youngest  of  them  made  an  attempt  to 
go  aloft,  but  the  mate  quickly  checked  their  ardor,  for  when 
we  left  Rio  the  captain  had  given  strict  orders  to  the  two 
mates  not  to  permit  any  of  the  passengers  to  go  into  the  rig- 
ging, as  it  might  result  in  a  catastrophe,  and  it  is  a  very 
proper  rule  on  board  of  a  passenger  ship.  Vessels  were 
quite  numerous  on  both  sides  of  our  ship,  but  quite  a  dis- 
tance off. 

About  four  p.  M.  we  sighted  a  ship  standing  to  the  south- 
ward which  the  mate  said  had  come  out  from  San  Francisco. 

About  five  P.  M.  the  lookout  aloft  gave  the  joyful  news  of 
"Land  ho!"  "Where  away?"  asked  the  captain.  "Four 
points  on  the  weather  bow,  sir."  "  Very  well;  come  down." 
The  lookout  came  down  on  deck,  and  when  the  captain  had 
gone  aloft  with  his  spyglass  and  scanned  the  land,  he  re- 
turned on  deck  and  said  it  was  a  group  of  rocky  islands 
called  the  Farallones,  in  lat.  37  41  north,  long.  123  01  west, 
about  twenty-five  miles  southwest  from  San  Francisco 
harbor. 

vVt  this  annouacement  the  passengers  became  almost  un- 
controllable with  glee.  A  number  of  them  struck  up  the 
favorite  refrain : 

"  Oh,  Susannah,  don't  you  cry  for  me; 
I'm  going  to  California  with  my  washbowl  on  my  knee." 

As  we  approached  near  to  the  rocky,  craggy,  barren- 
looking  island  we  could  see  myriads  of  birds  circling  around 
on  the  wing,  which  we  afterwards  learned  made  these  rocky 


188      ■  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

islands  their  breeding  place,  and  from  whence  San  Fran- 
cisco was  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  eggs  during  the 
months  of  June  and  July. 

At  seven  p.  M.  the  captain  ordered  all  light  sails  to  be 
taken  in  and  to  put  the  ship  under  topsails,  foresail,  jib  and 
spanker.  We  then  hauled  off  and  lay  off  and  on  during  the 
night.  The  wind  was  to  the  westward  and  the  weather  clear. 
The  passengers  were  nearly  all  of  them  on  deck,  gathered  in 
groups  and  engaged  in  merry  conversation. 

The  night  passed,  and  at  four  a.  m.  the  captain  came  on 
deck  and  ordered  the  ship  to  be  put  on  her  course  for  the 
harbor  and  all  sail  to  be  made  on  her.  When  the  watch  was 
called  all  hands  were  ordered  to  make  sail  on  the  ship.  We 
scrambled  aloft  with  light  hearts  and  loosed  the  topgallant- 
sails  and  royals  for  the  last  time  on  board  the  "Urania." 
Everything  was  set  by  five  a.  m.,  and  the  watch  was  ordered 
below  for  the  last  time. 

At  seven  bells,  when  the  watch  was  called,  the  land  on 
the  larboard  hand  was  plainly  in  sight  and  the  ship  was 
heading  about  northeast. 

On  this  morning  all  hands  forward  sat  to  their  first  and 
last  breakfast  together,  as  before  this  we  had  eaten  our 
breakfasts  watch  and  watch. 

Directly  after  breakfast  we  were  ordered  to  get  the  lead- 
line and  a  man  was  lashed  outside  the  forechaius  to  heave 
the  lead.  At  that  time  ships  that  entered  the  harbor  of  San 
Francisco  had  to  be  guided  by  lead  and  line,  as  there  were 
no  pilots,  nor  were  the  shoals  and  rocks  indicated  by  buoys. 

Well,  as  the  sailors  call  it,  we  felt  our  way  along  until  we 
came  up  to  the  bar.  As  we  approached  it  the  captain,  who 
had  gone  aloft  onto  the  foreyard  with  his  spyglass,  conned 
the  wheel  and  directed  the.  trimming  of  the  sails. 

As  the  ship  approached  the  land,  on  the  larboard  hand 
the  green  hills  and  deep  valleys  of  the  Marin  shore  came 
into  full  view,  gladdening  the  eyes  of  every  person  on 
board.  The  ladies  had  stationed  themselves  on  the  trunk 
of  the  cabin,  and  were  as  smartly  dressed  as  if  they  expected 
company. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  189 

As  we  approached  Lime  Point,  on  our  larboard  hand  the 
beautiful  green  hills,  with  numerous  cattle,  that  looked  at 
thut  distance  like  so  many  lambs,  and  the  umbrageous  trees 
of  live  oak,  with  outspreading  branches,  brought  to  mind 
the  old  English  song  of  spring-time: 

"  Our  eyes  were  bright,  our  hearts  were  light. 

And  nature's  face  was  gay; 
The  trees  their  leafy  branches  spread, 

And  i^erfumes  filled  sweet  May. 
'Twas  there  we  heard  the  cuckoo's  note 

Steal  softly  through  the  air, 
While  everything  around  us  looked 

Most  charming,  sweet  and  fair." 

On  our  starboard  bow  we  saw  a  bluff  jutting  into  the  bay 
on  the  apex  of  which  were  to  be  seen  two  or  three  small 
brass  cannon.  Rising  far  above  the  cannon  was  a  tall  flag- 
stafi  from  the  top  of  which  waved  the  glorious  flag  of  our 
country.  At  the  sight  of  the  flag,  one  of  the  young  passen- 
gers called  out:  "Look,  boys!  Look  at  the  banner  of  our 
dear  country.  After  having  sailed  more  than  eighteen  thou- 
sand miles  over  two  vast  oceans,  that  flag  tells  us  that  we 
are  about  to  place  our  feet  on  the  soil  of  our  beloved  coun- 
try— the  land  of  the  brave  and  the  home  of  the  free."  As 
he  uttered  these  words  he  jumped  upon  the  topgallant  fore- 
castle and  recited  the  following  lines  from  Drake's  Ode  to 
the  American  Flag: 

"  Forever  float  that  standard  sheet; 

Where  breathes  the  foe  but  falls  before  us, 
With  freedom's  soil  beneath  our  feet. 
And  freedom's  banner  waving  o'er  us  ?  " 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  recital  all  hands  gave  three 
cheers  for  the  American  flag. 

Next  came  into  view  the  whitewashed  adobe  walls  and 
tiled  roofs  of  the  Presidio  barracks,  with  its  sloping  verdant 
lawn.  On  our  larboard  side  was  Alcatraz,  which  in  Spanish 
signifies  pelican,  as  this  small  rocky  island  was  the  honae  of 
the  pelican,  that  preyed  upon  the  fish  in  the  bay.     Before 


190  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

us  loomed  Telegraph  Hill,  which  was  already  surmounted 
by  a  small  wooden  house,  through  the  center  of  which  shot 
up  into  space  a  mast  about  fifty  feet  high  from  which  pro- 
jected arms  according  to  the  wishes  of  its  manager,  thus: 
For  a  schooner  just  coming  into  port  he  would  hoist  one 
arm;   for  a  brig,  two  arms;  for  a  ship  three  arms,  thus: 

—       In  this  way,  as  soon  as  the  man   on  guard  with  his 

telescope  descried  a  vessel  in  the  offing,  he  would  raise  arms 
from  the  mast  according  to  the  rig  of  the  vessel.  Hence  the 
name  Telegraph  Kill. 

The  mate  now  called  out,  "Take  in  the  royals.  Take  in 
the  topgallantsails.  Haul  up  the  mainsail  and  unhook  the 
tacks  and  sheets.     Haul  down  the  flying  jib." 

As  we  sailed  into  view  of  the  harbor  our  eyes  were  greeted 
with  a  sight  that  they  never  have  encountered  since.  Ship- 
ping in  such  numbers  that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  to 
enumerate  them;  they  seemed  and  looked  to  us  as  we  were 
entering  the  harbor  as  if  they  were  piled  up  one  on  top  of 
the  other.  I  will  here  enumerate  some  of  the  vessels  whose 
names  I  a  few  days  afterward  took  pains  to  learn :  The  very 
first  vessel  I  saw  at  anchor  was  the  French  shij3  "  Chatau- 
briand,"  of  Havre;  the  "Thomas  Bennett,"  of  Charleston, 
S.  C;  "Salem,"  of  New  York;  "Genessee;"  the  "  Callao;" 
the  "Izetto;"  "Sarah  Parker,"  of  Nantucket;  "  Friend- 
ship," of  Edgartown,  Mass.;  the  "John  Jay;"  the  "Mary," 
of  Nantucket;  the  "Cadmus;"  the  "Deucalion;"  "Morri- 
son," of  Philadelphia;  "Ganges,"  of  Gloucester,  Mass.; 
"Carib,"  of  Salem;  "Palladium,"  of  Boston;  "  Dian- 
the,"  of  Boston.  "  Samuel  Eussell,"  of  New  York;  the 
"Albany"  and  the  "Utica, "  of  New  York;  schooner 
"John  AUyne, "  of  New  Bedford;  pilot  boat  "Favorite,'' 
of  New  Bedford;  sloop  "Burr," — came  through  the  Straits 
of  Magellan;  schooner  "Osceola,"  of  New  Bedford;  bark 
"Eureka,"  of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  schr.  "  Horace,"  from  New 
Bedford;  schooner  "A.  Emery,"  of  Berwick,  Me.;  brigs 
"Ark,"  and   "James  Caskie,"  two    deckers,  of   Newbury- 


A  Tale  op  Iwc  -    ^  I93 

port,  Mass.;  "South  America,"  and  the  '  -P  hrnia 

Providence,  E.  I. ;  "Niantic,"  of  Warren,  R.  x. ;  .;  4:1=  , 

rison,"  and  if  I  could  remember  them  all   it  would  iiii 
book  to  enumerate  them. 

When  we  got  abreast  of  Terba  Buena  Island,  now  called 
Goat  Island,  we  hauled  up  to  the  southward  and  westward 
and  skirted  the  closely  anchored  shipping  and  dropped  our 
anchor  in  the  harbor  near  Eincon  Point,  San  Francisco,  lat. 
37  47  55  north,  long.  122  24  52  west. 

As  we  dropped  our  anchor  and  heard  the  chain  run  out 
we  all  felt  that  we  would  never  again  sail  another  foot  on 
the  ship  "Urania,"  nor  any  other,  unless  it  would  be  as  a 
first-class  cabin  passenger. 

We  went  aloft  and  furled  all  the  sails  snug  and  took  good 
care  to  put  an  artistic  bunt  on  each  one  of  the  square  sails. 
After  the  sails  were  furled  and  the  decks  were  cleared  up, 
the  mate,  Mr.  Ingraham,  called  Tom  and  myself  to  him  and 
told  us  that  we  were  released  from  further  service  on  board 
the  "Urania."  It  being  now  six  o'clock  I  resolved  to  pass 
one  more  night  on  board. 

Of  the  ships  mentioned  as  being  in  the  harbor  of  San 
Francisco,  very  few  of  them  ever  went  out  of  the  harbor 
again.  The  most  of  them  were  turned  into  storeships,  by 
having  large  sections  cut  out  of  their  sides  level  with  the 
'tween  decks,  and  thus  they  were  utilized  as  storeships  where 
goods  were  placed  on  board  from  other  ships,  and  then  taken 
ashore  to  the  beach  in  lighters  as  they  were  needed. 

Some  of  these  ships  had  a  very  interesting  history. 
There  was  the  "John  Jay,  "that  took  Benjamin  Franklin 
to  France  as  American  Embassador  in  1776. 

There  was  the  "Cadmus,"  on  board  which  ship  Gen. 
Lafayette  made  his  voyage  to  the  United  States  in  1824. 

There  was  the  schooner  "John  Allyne,"  that  was 
bought,  fitted  out  and  loaded  by  a  company  of  intend- 
ing miners.  After  they  arrived  oflf  Cape  Horn  they  re- 
solved to  sail  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  when 
they  were  going  through  they  anchored  in  one  of  the  nu- 
merous bays  and  sent  their  boats  ashore  to  obtain  a  sup- 


190  ^  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

IIS  /  of  wood  and  water.  Of  those  that  went  ashore  was  a 
'iTian  named  Benjamin  Franklin  Bourne,  of  Buzzard's  Bay, 
Mass.,  in  honor  of  whose  family  the  recently  incorporated 
town  of  Bourne,  on  Cape  Cod,  where  President  Cleveland 
has  his  summer  home,  is  named.  Well,  as  they  had  abont 
got  through  with  the  labor  of  wood  gathering,  they  espied  a 
formidable  number  of  Patagonian  Indians  coming  down  the 
cliffs  towards  them.  The  crew  at  once  made  for  their  boats 
and  shoved  off,  but  they  discovered  that  Mn  Bourne  was 
not  among  them.  Being  seized  with  fear  and  not  knowing 
but  what  the  Indians  might  board  the  schooner  and  capture 
them  all,  they  returned  to  the  vessel  and  got  under  way,  and 
left  Mr.  Bourne  to  his  fate.  This  was  in  the  beginning  of 
1849.  The  vessel  got  through  the  straits  all  safe  and  after  a 
safe  passage  they  put  into  Valparaiso  in  order  to  send  the 
news  to  Mr.  Bourne's  friends  of  the  sad  fate  of  the  gentle- 
man. The  news  arrived  in  Boston  in  the  latter  part  of  June. 
President  Taylor  died  in  July,  and  was  succeeded  by  Millard 
Fillmore.  The  new  President  appointed  Daniel  Webster, 
who  was  an  old  friend  of  the  Bourne  family,  as  Secretary  of 
State.  Mr.  Benj.  F.  Bourne,  Sr.,  went  to  Mr.  Webster,  and 
the  result  was  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ordered  the 
sloop-of-war  "  Vandalia,"  that  was  at  that  time  being  fitted 
out  for  the  Pacific  station,  to  sail  through  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
gellan and  make  search  at  every  available  point  for  the  miss- 
ing gentleman.  In  the  meantime  another  schooner  went 
through  the  straits,  some  six  months  after  the  capture,  and 
the  Patagonians  brought  Mr.  Bourne  to  the  place  where  she 
had  anchored  to  get  wood  and  water.  As  they  showed 
a  disposition  to  release  their  prisoner,  the  captain  of  the 
schooner  gave  them  sufficient  of  such  articles  as  he  had  and 
which  they  desired,  and  the  prisoner,  Mr.  Bourne,  was 
yielded  up  into  the  hands  of  his  countryman.  The  suffer- 
ings and  abuses  which  the  gentleman  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  the  giant  Patagonians  were  such  that  the  relation  of  them 
would  melt  a  heart  of  stone.  The  ''Vandalia"  obeyed  the 
orders  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  but  she  had  been  fore- 
stalled in  her  errand   of  mercy.     This  was  the  history  of 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  193 

the  "John  Allyne."  Mr.  Bourne  was  brought  to  California 
on  board  the  schooner  that  received  him,  and  in  due  time 
returned  to  New  Bedford  and  afterwards  became  a  rich  man 
bj  his  enterprise  at  home. 

The  schooner  "Osceola,"  which  vessel  was  mentioned 
with  others,  had  her  history.  The  Boston  and  Sandwich 
Glass  Company  needed  a  vessel  to  run  between  Boston  and 
Sandwich,  Cape  Cod,  to  carry  material  to  the  glass  works 
and  bring  to  Boston  the  manufactured  glass.  They  had  one 
vessel,  but  needed  another  that  would  draw  less  water. 
They  found  a  vessel  in  New  Haven,  Conn.  She  was  a  sloop 
named  the  "  Osceola,"  built  on  Long  Island  Sound  to  run 
between  New  Haven  and  Albany,  N.  Y.  She  was  sharp  as 
a  wedge  forward,  with  a  fine  clean  run,  and  flat  on  the  floor 
as  a  house.  She  had  a  center-board  and  drew  but  little 
water,  which  was  the  desideratum,  because  Sandwich  harbor 
has  a  sandbar  at  the  mouth  of  it.  She  was  bought  in  New 
Haven  and  a  captain  and  crew  were  sent  to  bring  her  to 
Boston  by  the  way  of  Nantucket  Shoals  and  around  the 
Highlands  of  Cape  Cod.  When  the  captain  saw  the  sloop, 
and  examined  her  model,  he  refused  to  bring  her  around  to 
Boston — because  it  was  November  and  a  gale  of  wind  might 
set  in — and  another  and  more  courageous  captain  had  to  be 
sent.  She  was  brought  around  Cape  Cod  safely  and  into 
Boston.  She  was  run  between  Boston  and  Sandwich  for 
a  number  of  years,  until  the  Old  Colony  Kailroad  was  built 
and  a  branch  was  extended  to  Sandwich.  This  obviated  the 
necessity  for  keeping  the  "  Osceola"  running,  and  she  was 
offered  for  sale  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1849.  A  com- 
pany from  New  Bedford  bought  her,  and  took  her  over  the 
shoals  and  through  Wood's  Hole  into  Buzzard's  Bay,  to  New 
Bedford.  There  she  was  fitted  out,  the  center-board  was 
secured  in  the  well,  and  a  false  keel  put  on  her.  She  sailed 
for  California,  and  when  she  encountered  the  first  gale  of 
wind  in  the  Gulf  Stream,  she  slatted  her  mast  right  out  of 
her,  breaking  it  off  near  the  deck.  A  jurymast  was  fitted 
up  and  she  made  her  way  back  to  New  Bedford,  was  rigged 
into  a  schooner  and  started  again,  and  came  to  California 

18 


194  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

safe  and  sound  and  run  on  this  coast  for  many  years  after- 
wards. Now,  when  I  compare  the  achievement  of  these  in- 
trepid men  with  the  doings  of  Columbus  and  his  fellow- 
voyagers  on  the  vessels  "Santa  Maria"  and  the  "Pinta,"  I 
don't  know  which  of  them  most  to  admire,  for  Columbus, 
after  a  period  of  thirty  or  forty  days  at  the  longest,  intended 
to  return  to  the  port  of  Palos,  in  Spain,  from  whence  he 
started;  but  these  adventurous  descendants  of  the  Puritans 
knew  to  a  certainty  that  a  perilous  journey  was  before  them, 
over  two  trackless  oceans,  which  would  last  six  or  eight 
months  in  length. 

The  "Niantic"  was  afterwards  filled  in  just  where  she 
lay,  and  now  the  spot  forms  the  northwest  corner  of  Clay 
and  Sansome  streets,  which  locality  is  to-day  six  wide  busi- 
ness streets  distant  from  the  margin  of  the  bay. 

After  a  night's  rest,  not  having  a  watch  to  stand,  I  arose 
early  the  next  morning  and  after  breakfast  I  went  ashore 
with  others  in  the  longboat,  and  about  nine  o'clock  I  placed 
my  feet  on  the  shores  of  the  new  El  Dorado,  the  place  that 
had  absorbed  all  my  thoughts  and  on  which  I  had  centered 
my  fondest  anticipations — the  goal  of  my  ambition,  where  I 
hoped  that  I  would  at  least  be  able  to  earn  a  comfortable 
living  without  being  obliged  to  any  longer  follow  the  sea, 
after  having  done  so  for  the  past  fourteen  years  of  my  life. 

We  landed  near  Rincon  Point,  from  whence  we  had  to 
make  a  long  circuit  to  reach  the  town,  for  from  where  Fol- 
som  and  East  streets  intersect  now  to  First  street  it  was  all 
bay,  with  ships  of  the  largest  class  riding  at  anchor  thereon. 
One  of  them,  the  "Callao,"  lies  to-day  on  the  very  spot 
where  she  rode  at  anchor  at  that  time.  It  is  now  called  Beale 
street,  between  Mission  and  Howard  streets,  and  there  are 
Main,  Spear,  Steuart  and  East  streets  between  where  the 
ship  is  buried  in  the  street  and  the  water  front  of  to-day. 

As  I  walked  around  the  margin  of  the  bay  I  found  myself 
in  a  town  of  tents.  I  saw  but  very  few  houses,  and  those 
that  I  did  see  were  small  buildings  that  had  been  framed  in 
the  Eastern  States  and  sent  around  Cape  Horn  on  board  of 
ships. 


A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans.  195 

When  I  reached  First  street — and  the  reason  why  it  was 
called  First  street  is  because  it  then  was  the  first  street  on 
the  margin  of  the  bay,  although  to-day  it  is  seven  wide 
streets  removed  from  the  bay — when  I  reached  First  street, 
between  Mission  and  Minna,  there  was  a  little  steamer  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  being  put  together.  She 
had  been  constructed  in  the  East  and  every  part  numbered 
and  marked,  then  taken  apart  and  put  on  board  of  a  ship 
and  brought  out  here  and  reconstructed.  When  she  was 
completed  she  was  named  the  "  Sagamore."  Her  career 
was  very  brief,  for  she  was  blown  up  the  following  Sep- 
tember. 

As  I  walked  up  the  beach  I  noticed  that  every  man  that 
I  saw  appeared  to  be  busy  as  a  bee.  They  worked  as  though 
they  had  much  to  do  and  but  little  time  to  do  it  in. 

When  I  arrived  where  California  and  Sansome  streets 
now  intersect,  and  which  was  then  the  beach,  I  found  a  man 
there  with  a  team  of  two  mustang  horses  and  a  wagon,  load- 
ing some  brick  which  had  been  discharged  from  a  lighter. 
I  accosted  him  with  the  usual  salutation  of  ' '  Good  morning, 
sir."  He  answered  pleasantly,  "Good  morning."  I  said, 
"I  have  just  arrived  here  in  a  ship,  and  would  like  to  help 
you  to  load  those  bricks."  "Well,"  said  he,  "you  are  not 
dressed  for  this  kind  of  work."  "Well,  sir,"  I  replied,  "I 
dont  care  about  my  clothes,  for  I've  got  more  clothes  than 
money."  "  If  that  is  your  condition,"  said  he,  "you  may 
take  right  hold,"  and  I  did.  After  the  wagon  was  loaded  he 
took  the  load  up  California  street,  just  above  Montgomery, 
where  they  were  building  a  house  for  a  firm  named  Fitz- 
gerald, Bausch  &  Brewster.  After  he  had  dumped  the  brick 
he  returned,  and  I  had  taken  bricks  enough  out  of  the  water 
to  load  the  wagon  again.  We  loaded  three  loads  in  about 
two  hours,  when  the  job  was  finished.  He  asked  me  how 
much  I  wanted.  I  answered  that  I  would  take  what  he  had 
a  mind  to  give  me.  He  then  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket 
and  pulled  out  a  two  dollars  and  a  half  gold  piece.  I  thanked 
him  most  sincerely,  and  I  felt  then  as  if  I  had  really  reached 
a  land  that  was  "  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  and  thank 


196  A  Tale  of  Two  Oceans. 

God  for  His  goodness,  I  have  never  had  reason  to  change 
my  mind.  Just  then  the  following  lines  by  Charles  Mackay 
came  to  my  mind :  ^ 

"  A  willing  heart  and  a  ready  hand 

Are  priceless  to  the  young, 
And  are  the  sources  whence  success 

In  every  age  has  sprung; 
Then  cherish  them,  ye  noble  lads, 

Whatever  may  assail, 
For  a  willing  heart  and  a  ready  hand 

Are  never  known  to  fail." 

Finis. 


Our  Centennial  Birthday.  197 

The  follovviDg  lines,  which  I  wrote  on  July  4th,  1876,  and 
which  express  the  inmost  feelings  of  my  heart,  I  now  pub- 
lish in  addition  to  the  story  of  my  trip  to  California: 

OUE  CENTENNIAL  BIETHDAY. 

The  day  made  glorious  on  the  western  main, 

From  which  sweet  Freedom  takes  its  yearly  date, 

Now  dawns  with  brightness  on  the  land  again, 
Where  grateful  millions  guide  its  onward  fate. 

Oppression's  bonds  their  early  years  confined; 

Slaves  in  the  cherished  land  that  gave  them  birth; 
Each  man  resolved  with  firm,  unwavering  mind, 

To  strike  a  blow  to  free  his  home  and  hearth. 

Kuled  by  a  king  enthroned  'mid  distant  seas, 
Deaf  to  appeals  borne  from  this  western  shore, 

He  aimed  with  stern,  iinstatesmanlike  decrees, 
To  claim  for  tribute  all  their  humble  store. 

The  royal  tyrant,  with  outrageous  laws, 

Essayed  to  crush  the  honest  sons  of  toil; 
In  vain  did  Justice  plead  the  sufferer's  cause, 

Nor  Mercy's  tears  could  stay  the  hand  of  spoil. 

The  issue  forced  upon  unwilling  hands. 
That  ne'er  did  wish  from  parent  ties  to  part, 

'Till  royal  greed,  with  its  unjust  demands, 
Drove  loyalty  from  each  indignant  heart. 

The  day  on  which  the  deadly  strife  began 
Gave  birth  to  a  nation  that  ignores  a  king; 

Its  limits  reach  towards  the  setting  sun; 
Two  mighty  oceans  to  its  borders  cling. 

One  century  marks  her  course  of  self-control. 
And  lo!  behold  her  now,  a  mighty  nation; 

Unnumbered  ships  her  starry  flag  unfold — 
The  brightest  banner  that  illumes  creation. 

What  heart  but  beats  on  this  Centennial  day 
With  conscious  dignity,  nor  swells  with  pride; 

What  lips  but  breathe  sweet  Freedom's  sacred  lay, 
That  gives  man  all — earth  can  give  naught  beside. 


198         Our  Centennial  Birthday. 

Perish  the  hand  that  basely  lifts  the  sword, 
This  land,  that  patriots  won,  to  sever; 

Cursed  be  the  tongue  that  would  with  trait'rous  word 
Soil  her  flag,  whose  folds  shall  wave  forever. 

America!  safe  haven  for  down-trodden  man, 
Elysium  of  industrious,  happy  throngs. 

Praise  the  brave  founders  of  thy  freedom's  plan, 
To  them  the  honor  of  this  day  belongs. 


9  8  8  H     1  3 


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